


Alpha Pack

by MotoXAngels



Series: Alpha's Huntress [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-22
Updated: 2015-06-23
Packaged: 2018-03-14 14:21:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 50,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3413876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MotoXAngels/pseuds/MotoXAngels
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tahlia has succeeded in protecting the wolves and her new friends from the Kanima and her family. But now a new threat looms on the horizon, a pack of murdering Alphas. Can Tahlia protect everyone once again or will she be the first to fall?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer - I do not own Teen Wolf or anything related to it. I only own my original character Tahlia and her family, and anything else that seems out of place.
> 
> So here it is the long awaited sequel to The Alpha's Huntress. The first chapter is just a bit of a teaser to get you guys started. I hope you enjoy.

* * *

Since the arrival of the Alpha pack, tensions have been high between Tahlia and Derek. Besides helping him, Peter and Isaac to look for Boyd and Erica, she has been keeping her distance from the Alpha as much as possible. Which was becoming more difficult as he felt the need to show up at her house unannounced whenever he pleased. She had thought after he had moved out a few months ago with Isaac, they moved into a loft in the abandoned warehouse district, that she was going to get a break from the overbearing, dictating, brooding Alpha.

But those thoughts were shattered as she came home from visiting Chris and Allison one day and he was sitting on her couch. She rolled her eyes as she slammed the front door shut and stomped into the living room, stopping behind the sofa she glared down at the Alpha lounging across the cushions, hands behind his head and eyes closed, like he owned the place.

"I could've sworn I changed the locks and the code for the garage. How the hell did you get in here?"

His hands were resting behind his head until she spoke, he pulled one arm out from behind his head, reaching into his front jean pocket and pulling something back out. Her eyes burned with fury as he held up the shiny object for her to see.

"You copied my key!?"

He tucked the key back into his pocket. "I had to, you wouldn't give me one."

"There was a reason for that! This being a perfect example."

"We need to talk."

"No we don't. I said all I had to say that night, that was the end of it. I'm only here to do my job, protect the innocents. Unfortunately that means I still have to see you, but it doesn't require I speak to you. Now get out."

"Tahlia, I'm not leaving until we talk about us."

"There is no us, there never was and there never will be. You made sure of that."

* * *

Derek heard the sadness creep into her voice at her last words and he couldn't help the twinge of pain that crept into his chest. What he did was to protect her, after almost killing her, Derek knew he had done the right thing, even if she did hate him now. He would happily live with her hatred, at least she was still alive.

"Derek, I'm going to say this once and once only. Get out of my house or I will shoot you."

He waved his hand in the air in a dismissive gesture, clearly he had forgotten who she was. He was reminded however when a burning pain shot through his body.

* * *

Tahlia had had enough of Derek's ignoring her, as she reached her right hand back under her coat and pulled out her Glock, aiming it at Derek's right thigh and pulling the trigger. He shot up off the couch, his eyes burning red as he glared at her.

"What the hell is the matter with you!?"

"Relax it's a regular bullet, no Wolfsbane, you'll heal. However I did warn you. Now do you need another to get my point across or do you get it now?"

Her blue eyes conveyed her hatred for the Alpha, along with the hurt she had been carrying since that fateful night three months ago. Derek nodded before he walked slowly around the couch and to the garage door, he turned back just as he opened it.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry Tahlia."

She kept her back to him as she heard the door close, the sound of the garage door opening, then Derek's Camaro firing up and backing down her drive before tearing down the road.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer - I do not own Teen Wolf or anything related to it. I only own my original character Tahlia and her family, and anything else that seems out of place.

* * *

The next morning Tahlia is picked up by her Uncle, something happened at the school and they went to check on Allison. As soon as they entered the classroom, Tahlia knew something incredibly wrong was happening. Everywhere she turned there were crow feathers and bodies, blood spatter covered the broken windows and the floor.

Chris is placing a bandage on Allison's hand, "Next time you're feeling you wanna stay home, you stay home."

"I'm okay. But dad, the deer and now this?"

"I know, I know."

"It can't be a coincidence."

Tahlia notices the Sheriff coming over, she smiles at him which he returns before he addresses her Uncle.

"Mr. Argent, you wouldn't have any insight into this, would you? Tahlia, how about you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah. All this bizarre animal behavior, it's… You two must have seen something like this before, right?"

Chris is perplexed as he glances beside him at his Niece before turning back to the Sheriff. "I'm not sure why I would or why you would think I would."

"Me either, Sheriff." Tahlia says although she has an idea as she glances at Stiles over his father's shoulder, the teen looks away quickly.

"I'm sorry. I uh, I could've sworn I overheard my son talking about how you two were experienced hunters."

This time Chris looks over at Stiles and the teen drops his head staring intently at his phone in his lap.

"Ah, right. Well, not anymore."

The Sheriff nods, he turns to Allison. "You all right?"

She nods, "Yeah."

He takes his leave as Stiles gives him a 'really dad' look, while Allison fixes her dad with a look of her own, one that has him hating life. The two of them take the girls home, then Tahlia leaves to go meet up with Derek.

* * *

Despite her better judgment, when he called her earlier to ask for her help she actually heard him out instead of slamming the phone down. So now here she was sitting on the couch, her compound bow sitting on the table before her as she cleaned it making sure it was in perfect working order.

She looked up smiling as she watched Isaac pace before the big window to her left. In front of the window was a large metal desk, Derek sat on the opposite side from Isaac looking through a book. It had been over an hour of uncomfortable silence in the loft, the Beta glancing often between his Alpha and the Huntress. The tension between them was so thick you could cut it with a knife, so he took a chance to break the silence.

"You know, I'm starting not to like this idea. Sounds kind of dangerous." He paced back to the right side of the window where he paused. "You know what? I definitely don't like this idea, and I definitely don't like him."

Derek looked up from his book at his pacing Beta. "You'll be fine." He went back to reading his book.

"Does it have to be him?"

"He knows how to do it. I don't. Be more dangerous if I tried doing it myself."

Isaac steps over to the side of the desk, picking up one of the books. "You know Scott doesn't trust him, right? You know, personally, I'd… Well, I'd trust Scott."

The Alpha looks up at the teen, "Do you trust me?"

"Yeah."

Derek goes back to his book again.

"I still don't like him."

"Nobody likes him."

As if on cue knowing they were discussing him the door to the loft slid open and in waltzed the man himself.

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear." Tahlia quipped earning her a smirk from the person in question.

"Boys. FYI, yes, coming back from the dead has left my abilities somewhat impaired, but the hearing still works. So, I hope you're comfortable saying whatever it is that you're feeling straight to my face."

"We don't like you." Derek said flatly before shutting the book with a slam, tossing it onto the desk and standing up. "Now shut up and help us."

Peter glanced between the two wolves, "Fair enough." He flicked out the claws on his left hand earning a concerned glance from Isaac.

Derek pulls out a chair for Isaac setting it in front of the desk, while Peter goes to hang up his jacket. Tahlia still sits on the couch tightening her bow strings, albeit more irritated due to Derek's close proximity as he sits on the table in front of her.

Peter walks back up to the Beta. "Relax. I'll get more out of you if you're calm."

"How do you know how to do this, again?"

Peter answers Isaac while looking down at his claws. "It's an ancient ritual used mostly by Alphas, since it's a skill that requires quite a bit of practice. One slip and you could paralyze someone. Or kill them."

That statement causes Derek's head to rise, as well as Tahlia's. Only Isaac voices what they all seem to be thinking.

"But you've had a lot of practice, though, right?"

"Well, I've never paralyzed anyone."

"Wait, does that mean that you…" Isaac is cut off as Peter jams his claws into the back of his neck. Yellow and blue eyes glow as Isaac grasps onto both of Peter's arms. Both of them grunt, Isaac struggling against Peter violently, Derek stands up ready to help his Beta.

"Wait, I see them."

A moment later Peter rips away from Isaac leaning onto the desk for support, while Isaac lurches forward in the chair grabbing the back of his neck.

Derek watches his Uncle step over to the broken brick wall across the room. "What'd you see?"

"Uh. It was confusing." Peter pants as he leans on the wall. "Um, im-images. Vague shapes."

"But you saw something?"

"Isaac found them."

"Erica and Boyd?"

"I barely saw them. I mean, glimpses."

"But you did see them."

Peter looks down at his hands, rubbing his knuckles. "And worse."

"Deucalion." Derek says as he sits back down.

"He was talking to them. Something about time running out."

"What does it mean?" Isaac looks over at Derek searching for an answer.

Derek sighs rubbing his hands together. "He's gonna kill them."

"No, no, no, no, he didn't say that. He-he did make them a promise that by the full moon that they'd both be dead."

"The next full moon?" Tahlia asks now standing beside Derek.

"Tomorrow night."

* * *

Afterwards Tahlia gets a call from her cousin saying she has something that Derek and her need to see. So after a very uncomfortable car ride, the Huntress leads the way into the school finding Scott, Allison, Lydia and Stiles in one of the classrooms. The girls show Derek the bruises on their arms, which are supposed to be a clue to helping them, but the Alpha can't see what they all do. However Tahlia does.

"I don't see anything."

"Look again." Scott urges him.

"How is a bruise gonna tell me where Boyd and Erica are?" He looks up at Allison the two of them locking stares.

"It's the same on both sides. Exactly the same." Scott explains.

"It's nothing."

"Pareidolia." Lydia tells him. "Seeing patterns that aren't there. It's a subset of apophenia."

Scott gives Derek a pleading look, "They're trying to help."

Derek scoffs raising his eyebrows, "These two?" He points to Lydia, "This one, who used me to resurrect my psychotic Uncle. Thank you." Then his attention turns to Allison, "And this one, who shot about thirty arrows into me and my pack."

"Okay, all right, now, come on." Stiles says trying to douse the flames building between the Alpha and Allison. "No one died, all right? Look, there may have been a little maiming, okay, a little mangling, but no death. That's what I call an important distinction."

"My mother died." Allison tells them quietly all the while staring at Derek.

"Your family's little honor code killed your mother. Not me."

"That girl was looking for Scott. I'm here to help him, not you."

"You wanna help? Find something real."

Derek turns to leave, Scott follows him to the door. "Give her a chance. Okay, they're on our side now."

"Well, then maybe you should tell her what her mother was actually trying to do that night."

Derek walks out and Scott turns to Tahlia, she sighs as she understands his look. "I'll talk to him. Don't know how much good it's gonna do." She heads out following after the Alpha.

* * *

After a call from Scott, the two grab Isaac and head down to the animal clinic to see Deaton, he has a way to help Isaac remember. Tahlia stands in the far corner watching Derek, Stiles and Scott empty bags of ice into a large trough full of water. Isaac stands in the doorway with Deaton watching them.

"Obviously, it's not going to particularly… comfortable. But if we can slow your heart rate down enough, you'll slip into a trace-like state."

Isaac steps over to the side of the tub. "Like, being hypnotized."

"Exactly. You'll be half transformed. It'll let us access your subconscious mind."

Isaac kneels down next to the tub, Scott looks up at Deaton concerned. "How slow does his heart rate ned to be?"

"Very slow."

Derek leans on the side of the tub, "Okay, well, how slow is very slow?"

"Nearly dead."

Isaac touches the water, recoiling his hand back quickly. "It's safe, though, right?"

"Do you want me to answer honestly?"

"No. No, not really."

A snapping sounds catches their attention, five sets of eyes turn towards Stiles who has an arm length rubber glove on. He sees them staring at him, "What?"

Derek gives him raised eyebrow and Stiles pulls off the glove tossing it away. The Alpha looks up to his Beta, "Look, if it feels too risky, you don't have to do this."

Tahlia scoffs from behind him, "Yeah, I don't even like you much, but this seems really dangerous." Of course this earns her a glare from Derek which she just shrugs off, Isaac meanwhile flips her off with a smile, he knows she's only joking, trying to keep him calm, she gives him a wink in return.

Isaac nods taking off his shirt, exhaling another deep breath he steps into the tub. He gasps as he sits down, breathing heavily. Scott and Derek place their hands on his shoulders, pushing him underwater.

Seconds later Isaac bursts up from underwater, his yellow eyes glowing, fangs extended and loud roar leaving his mouth.

"Get him back under." Deaton orders. Isaac struggles against them, pushing himself back up. "Hold him." Deaton orders.

"We're trying!" Derek yells struggling to hold the Beta.

Derek and Scott shove him back under, Stiles trying to hold his legs down. Seconds later Isaac stops struggling, sinking into the water, letting Scott and Derek push him back under. Isaac stills, Scott and Derek remove their hands and he floats to the surface taking a deep breath, his eyes closed.

Deaton leans down to the tub holding up a finger, "Now, remember, only I talk to him. Too many voices will confuse him and draw him out." After assuring that everyone is quiet, Deaton leans down to the tank again. "Isaac? Can you hear me?"

"Yes. I can hear you."

"This is Dr. Deaton. I'd like to ask you a few questions. Is that all right?"

"Yes."

"I want to ask you about the night you found Erica and Boyd." Thunder rumbles outside the window. "I want you to remember it for me in as vivid detail as possible. Like you're actually there again."

"I-I don't wanna do that. I don't— I don't wanna do that. I don't wanna do that." He starts thrashing around in the water, the guys trying to hold him down.

"Isaac, it's all right. Just relax. They're just memories." Deaton tells him, the lights flickering. "You can't be hurt by memories."

"I don't wanna do that."

"It's all right."

"I don't wanna do that."

"Just relax. Relax." He calms down, "Good. Now let's go back to that night. To the place you found Erica and Boyd. Can you tell me what you see? Is there some kind of building? A house?"

"It's not— It's not a house. It's stone. I think marble." He stutters, his lips chattering.

"That's perfect." Deaton tells him. "Can you give me any other descriptors?"

"It's dusty, so empty."

"Like an abandoned building?"

The thunder rumbles, the lights flashing as the electricity crackles.

"Isaac?" Deaton calls to him.

"Someone's here." Isaac reaches up and grabs Scott's arm, gripping it tightly. "Someone's here."

"Isaac, relax."

"No, no, no, they see me, they see me!"

Isaac screams splashing around, his fingers are digging into Scott's arms.

"Just memories. You won't be hurt by your memories. Just relax. Relax. Good. Now tell us what you see. Tell us everything."

Isaac's eyes open, "I hear him. He's talking about the full moon, about being out of control when the moon rises."

"Is he talking to Erica?"

"I think so, I can't— I can't see her— I ca— I can't see either of them."

"Can you hear anything else?"

"They're worried. They're worried what they'll do during the moon. They're… worried that they're gonna hurt each other."

The thunder rumbles again, Derek sighs, "If they're locked in together on the full moon, they're gonna tear each other apart."

"Isaac, we need to find them right now. Can you see them?"

"No."

"Do you know what kind of room it is? Is there any kind of a marker? A number on a door? A sign?"

Isaac gasps jolting up in the water, Derek lays a hand on his shoulder, his eyes aren't focused, it's as if he's looking out into space.

He whispers, "They're here." The lights flicker, "They're here. They're here."

"It's all right," Deaton tells him.

"No. They're here."

"Just tell us-"

"No. They see me. They found me. They're here!"

"This isn't working. Isaac, where are you?" Derek urges.

"Derek, stop!" Tahlia warns.

"I can't see them, it's too dark! I can't see!"

"Tell me where you are!"

"You're gonna confuse him." Deaton warns to Derek, who ignores him, "Isaac, where are you?"

Isaac is struggling and fighting against them as they try to keep him calm and shut Derek up.

"Tell me where you are!"

Deaton whispers loudly, "His heart rate— he could go into shock!"

"Derek, let him go!" Scott growls.

"Isaac! Where are you? What did you see?" Derek yells this time.

"It's a vault! It's a bank vault!" Isaac sits up, fully awake. "I saw it! I saw the name."

Scott and Derek help Isaac out of the tub, Deaton wraps a towel around him.

"It's, uh… B-Beacon Hills First National Bank. It's, um— it's abandoned bank, and they're keeping them locked inside, inside the vault." Isaac looks around, noticing everyone is looking around uneasy. "What?"

"You don't remember what you said right before you came out of it, do you?" Stiles asks him.

"No." Isaac says, shaking his head.

Stiles sighs, "You said that when they captured you they dragged you to a room and that there was a body in it."

"What body?" Isaac asks looking to Deaton and back to Stiles.

"Erica. You said it was Erica."

Derek paces back and forth in front of Tahlia. "She's not dead."

"Derek, he said, "There's a dead body. It's Erica." Doesn't exactly leave us much room for interpretation." Stiles tells him.

"Then who was in the vault with Boyd?"

"Someone else, obviously."

Scott interrupts Stiles, backing his friend up. "And maybe it was the girl on the motorcycle." He turns to Isaac. "Okay, the one who saved you?"

"No, she wasn't like us. And whoever was in the vault with Boyd was."

"What if that's like how Erica died? They pit them against each other during the full moons and see which one survives." Stiles looks around at the others. "It's like werewolf thunderdome."

"Then we get them out tonight."

"Be smart about this, Derek. You can't just go storming in." Deaton reminds him.

"If Isaac got in, then so can we."

"But he didn't get through a vault door, did he?"

Scott stands up, "We need a plan."

Derek eyes him, "How are we gonna come up with a plan to break into a bank vault in less than 24 hours?"

Stiles meanwhile is looking on his phone when he discovers something. "Uh, I think someone already did. "Beacon Hills First National closes its doors three months after vault robbery." Doesn't say here how it was robbed, but it probably won't take long to find out."

"How long?"

Stiles scoffs at Derek, sometimes the Alpha was clueless. "It's the internet, Derek. Okay? Minutes."

* * *

Minutes to Stiles was the next morning after he and Scott had been woken up by the Sheriff who coincidently was their key to discovering how the vault was broken into, he being the man who arrested the thieves.

* * *

So that night Tahlia joined Scott, Stiles and Peter in the loft to go over the plan for that night. She sat on the bottom step of the staircase in between Peter's legs who sat a couple rungs above her, she kept turning around and smacking Peter's hands as he played with her long hair.

Derek and Scott stood at the desk while Stiles filled them in on the vault blueprints.

"This is how they got in. It's a rooftop air conditioning vent. Leads down inside into the wall of the vault, which is here. One of the robbers was lowered into this shaft. Now, that space is so small, it took him about 12 hours to drill into that wall, which is stone, by the way. Then throughout the rest of the night, they siphoned the cash up to the guys back on the roof through that one little shaft in the wall. Boom."

"Can we fit in there?" Scott asks eyeing his best friend.

"Yes, we can, but very, very barely. And they also patched the wall, obviously, so we're gonna need a drill of some kind. I'm thinking maybe a diamond bit—"

"Look forget the drill."

Stiles turns to Derek, "Sorry?"

"If I go in first, how much space do I have?"

Stiles' head swivels from Derek to Scott then back again. "What do you think you're gonna do, Derek? You gonna punch through the wall?"

Derek stands up, crossing his arms, he smirks. "Yes, Stiles, I'm gonna punch through the wall."

"Okay, big guy. Let's see it. Let's see that fist. Big, old fist. Make it, come on."

Derek raises his right arm up twisting it at the elbow, his left arm still crossed over his chest, the back of his right fist pointing towards Stiles. Tahlia smirks as she sees the irritated look that settles on Derek's face, she can feel Peter smirking as well behind her.

"Get it out there. Don't be scared. Big, bad wolf. Yeah, look at that. Okay, see this?"

Stiles grabs Derek's wrist with his right hand, holding his left one in front of the Alphas fist. "That's maybe three inches of room to gather enough force to punch through solid…"

SMACK!

The sound reverberates through the room, to Tahlia it sounded like he had broken Stiles' hand. Stiles clutches his hand and steps away from the table. "Aah! Aah! He could do it."

Derek watches Stiles walk away, "I'll get through the wall. Who's following me down?" His gaze moves from Scott to Peter who shakes his head.

"Don't look at me. I'm not up to fighting speed yet, and honestly, with Isaac out of commission, you're not looking at very good odds for yourself."

"So I'm supposed to just let them die?"

"One of them is already dead." Peter says with a condescending tone.

"We don't know that."

"Do I have to remind you what we're up against here? A pack of Alphas. All of them killers. And if that's not enough to scare your testicles back into your stomach, try to remember that two of them combine bodies to form one giant Alpha. I'm sure Erica and Boyd were sweet kids. They're gonna be missed."

"Can someone kill him again, please?" Stiles asks.

This snaps Peter's attention to Stiles, then to his Nephew. "Derek, seriously, not worth the risk." He sits back with his arms crossed over his chest.

"What about you?"

"Yeah, if you want me to come…" Stiles starts to answer until Derek cuts him off looking over to Scott. "Not you."

"Scott." Stiles says pointing at his friend.

"I don't know about Erica. But if Boyd's still alive, we have to do something." Scott's gaze moves to Peter who rolls his eyes and gives a sigh. "We have to try."

Tahlia notices Scott concentrating hard. "What is it Scott?"

"Who's the other girl? The one locked in there with Boyd?"

Tahlia gets into her truck, Derek and Scott in the back as she drives them to the bank. She waits around the back as backup should they need her, as they head inside the bank. She grabs her compound bow and nocks an arrow, the steel tip glinting in the moonlight.

* * *

Meanwhile back at the loft Stiles is staring out the window at the full moon, biting his nails. "I can't take waiting around like this, you know? It's nerve-racking. My nerves are racked. They're severely racked. Racked." Stiles says turning around.

Peter is reclining back on the couch, his feet on the table, eyes closed. "I could beat you unconscious and wake you when it's over."

"You think Erica's really dead?"

"You think I really care?" Peter retorts.

"I just— I don't understand the bank, though, okay? Wha— like, why wouldn't they chain them up in some underground lair or something? They're an Alpha pack, right? So, shouldn't they have a lair?"

"They're werewolves, not Bond villains."

"Wait a sec. Wait a sec. Maybe they're living there. You know?" Stiles walks over to the broken wall by Derek's bed looking at it. "Like, maybe the bank vault reminds them of their little wolf dens?"

"Wolf dens?" Peter asks not believing the teen is asking these stupid questions.

Stiles turns around, "Yeah, wolf dens. Where do you live?"

Peter finally lifts his head up, his eyes opening. "In an underground network of caves hidden deep in the woods."

"Whoa, really?"

"No, you idiot. I have an apartment downtown." He lays his head back down, reclosing his eyes.

"Okay, fine, but still, that just proves there is something up with the bank. And why wait around for the full moon, huh? Why not just kill them whenever they want to?"

"Maybe they think it's poetic."

"They've already had three full moons to be poetic."

"And here you've only had one full hour to be so annoying…" Peter stops, he lifts his head up, a thoughtful look on his face.

Stiles motions to him, "No, go ahead, finish what you were saying. I'm an— I'm annoying. What were you gonna say there?"

Peter sits up, "What are the walls made of?" He stands walking towards the desk.

"What? Uh…" Stiles looks around at Derek's place. "I don't know, like, wood and brick or—"

"No, the vault, the vault, the walls, what are they made out of?" Peter looks down at the schematics Stiles brought over. "Where would it say that?" He flips through the pages, "Doesn't say anything. Where— where would it say the— the materials, the type of stone?"

"Oh— oh, hang on." Stiles turns and looks through the stack of papers on the desk. "Yeah, here, hang on." He pulls out a huge stack of papers from his bag hanging them to Peter. "Here. It's gotta be in there."

* * *

At the bank, Derek and Scott stand outside of the building staring up at the roof.

"What?" Derek asks as he notices Scott's look of apprehension.

"There's just something I can't get out of my head."

"The moon's rising, Scott. What is it?"

"Risk and reward."

"Which means what?"

"We're not measuring the risk with enough information. We don't know enough."

"We know times running out."

"Yeah, but think about it. They put the triskele on your door four months ago. What have they been doing all this time? Why wait until now?"

"We don't have the time to figure out every little detail."

"Okay, but what if this detail, the reason why they waited— what if it's the most important one?"

"Then we do nothing, and Boyd and Erica are dead. I know what I'm risking. My life for theirs." Derek runs up to the building, jumping up to the gated window and over to the fire escape, pulling himself up to the bottom rung. "And I won't blame you if you don't follow me."

* * *

Back at the loft Peter and Stiles are still flipping through the papers looking for the information they need. Stiles points to a page, "There, that's it."

"Hecatolite." Peter reads.

"Is that awful? That sounds awful."

"Get 'em on the phone. Call them. Now!"

"Okay, why?" Stiles says hurriedly reaching for his phone.

"Cause Boyd and that girl aren't gonna kill each other. They're gonna kill Derek and Scott."

* * *

Inside the vent shaft, Derek shatters the wall in four punches, tumbling out onto the floor. Scott enters after him, together they move slowly surveying the room. Derek spots a figure in front of them, "Boyd?"

A low growl is his response, Derek stands up, "Boyd?"

The Beta continues advancing, growling, his yellow eyes gleaming in the darkness, his claws extended.

The Alpha holds up his hand, "It's me. It's Derek."

Scott's phone rings, "Stiles, now is not the best time."

"Scott! Scott! No, listen to me, okay? Look, you gotta get out of there. Look, the walls of the vault are made with a mineral called Hecatolite, it scatters the moonlight."

"What does that mean?"

"We're here to get you out. Okay?" Derek says still trying to calm Boyd.

"Look, it keeps the moonlight out, okay? They haven't felt the full moon in months."

Peter takes over, "Think of it like the gladiators in the Roman Coliseum, they used to starve the lions for three days, making them more vicious, more out of control. Deucalion has kept them from shifting for three full moons, diminishing their tolerance to it."

"Scott, they're gonna be stronger—" Stiles says hurriedly.

Peter interrupts, "More savage, more bloodthirsty. Scott, they're the lions. They're the starving lions, and you and Derek just stepped into the Coliseum."

"Derek, we got a problem, a really big problem." Scott says, worry in his voice.

Another growl is heard from behind Boyd, a small girl a few inches shorter than Tahlia steps out. Recognition flashes across Derek's face as she steps into the light. Derek is speechless for a moment before he utters, "Cora?"

"Who?" Scott says lowering the phone.

"Cora?" Derek's voice cracks as he looks to the girl.

"Derek." The girl says, her voice sounding forced, "Get out. Get out now!"

"Scott? Hey Scott!" Stiles voice echoes through the phone.

Scott looks around the room, his line of sight falls on a dark line surrounding the room. Suddenly the vault door opens, the light from outside is bright to their eyes. In the doorway stands Ms. Morrell, the guidance counselor from the high school. She bends down letting a powder fall from her hand, Scott realizes it's mountain ash, she's sealing them inside the vault.

"No! No wait!" Scott yells watching the barrier become complete, effectively trapping them in with the two rabid wolves.

"Scott! Scott are you hearing this? Scott!" Stiles yells but the phone goes dead, he and Peter exchange worried looks.

Inside the vault, chaos has erupted as Boyd and the girl have charged, attacking the trio. Derek grabs Boyd tossing him away from Scott, only to be charged by the girl. She slashes repeatedly at Derek, before Scott grabs her by the jacket, tossing her into a column. The two guys back up against the wall behind them.

"You know her?" Scott says looking to Derek.

"She's my sister, my younger sister."

"What the hell is she doing here?" Scott asks him.

"Like I have a clue. I thought she was dead!"

Allison comes into the open vault door, she yells to them, "Look out!"

Cora and Boyd attack, Boyd slamming Scott into the wall several times. Derek is trying not to hurt Cora but she is relentless, finally he grabs her right arm, cracking the bones of her forearm. Boyd digs his claws into Scott's stomach, the smaller Beta coughing up blood as Boyd lifts him up the wall.

Derek is fighting with Cora, he holds her wrists as she tries to attack him. He looks over as Allison bends down to the barrier, he yells to her, "No! Don't break the seal!"

She stops, looking up at Scott, blood running down his mouth and shirt, she makes her decision. "Boyd!" The Beta looks to her as she breaks the seal, he drops Scott. Cora breaks away from Derek, and they both run out of the vault.

* * *

Within ten minutes Tahlia watches the Alpha's leave through the front door, getting into their vehicle and taking off. She hears a commotion inside and runs inside in time to find two Beta's charging towards her. Without enough time to fire she jumps to the side out of their path, then thanks whatever God caused them to run right past her. She gets up striding over to the two wolves and her cousin.

Derek runs over grabbing Allison by the arms, as Scott struggles to the door.

"Don't touch her!" Scott rasps out.

"What were you thinking?"

"That I had to do something!" Allison says back in Derek's face.

"She saved our lives." Scott reminds him.

"Yeah, and what do you think they're gonna do out there?" Derek tells him. "Do you have any idea what we just set free?" Tahlia steps in between the Alpha and her cousin preventing an attack.

"You want to blame me?!" Allison yells looking at Derek. "Well, I am not the one turning teenagers into killers."

"No. No, that's just the rest of your family."

"I've made mistakes. Gerard is not my fault."

Scott lowers his head as Derek asks her, "And what about your mother?"

"What do you mean?"

Derek looks over to his right, "Tell her, Scott."

Allison looks to her ex-boyfriend, "What does he mean, Scott?"

Scott doesn't say anything as Allison stares at him, "What does he mean?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer - I do not own Teen Wolf or anything related to it. I only own my original character Tahlia and her family, and anything else that seems out of place.

* * *

Derek, Scott and Isaac head out into the woods tracking down Boyd and Cora. Out in the middle of the woods two children, a young girl and boy are playing around catching fireflies in jars. As the boy is set to catch another one he notices something in the distance. It's a fully shifted Boyd, he growls at the boy who takes off with his sister, the two hysterical as they run for their lives. The two kids hide inside an old metal shed, Boyd rips the shed from the ground, tossing it away.

Suddenly fireflies from a jar at Boyd's feet escape, they begin flying around his face, he snarls, swiping his claws at the offending insects. As the last one flies away Boyd looks down— the children are missing. He looks around him, finding nothing, the children are nowhere to be seen, he growls loudly looking up at full moon.

* * *

_"You lost them?"_

Derek's voice floats through Scott's phone, the irritation can be heard in the Alphas voice.

"Yeah, I kind of had to."

Derek grits his teeth, _"Wasn't exactly the plan."_

"I know, which is why I think that we should stick together. Trust me, he's too strong, too fast, and way too angry for one person to handle. We've got to do this together."

_"Look, I'm at the trails by the entrance to the preserve. Can you meet me here?"_

"Yeah. Just got to drop something off first." Scott hangs up the phone as he looks down at the little girl and boy who is attached to his side.

Scott meets up with Derek after dropping the children off. The two wolves run quickly through the woods, so fast that they look like blurs, if they weren't wolves they would miss half the things they passed by. They come to a thick tree that runs the length of the path, Derek jumps up onto a branch and off, he stops as he lands on the ground. Scott jumps through a high break in the branches, front flipping off, somersaulting as he hits the ground, he pauses in a crouch as he looks to Derek who is staring down at a shoe print in the mud.

"Is it them?" Scott asks.

"We're not the only ones that decided to stick together."

Scott sighs, "Is that gonna make it easier or harder to catch them?"

"I don't know." Derek answers honestly, glancing around.

"Derek… I saw Boyd try to rip two little kids apart. Are they gonna do that to everyone they find?"

Derek sighs, pursing his lips, "Everyone and anyone." Derek walks past him continuing down the trail.

* * *

Tahlia is tracking the two wolves through the woods by herself, she wouldn't be alone except Derek specifically said he didn't want her out there in harms way. So here she was, her bow nocked with an arrow in front of her, her Glocks at her sides in their holsters as she thinks about the conversation earlier with Scott and Allison.

_"_ _She tried to kill you. Why didn't you tell me?"_

_"_ _I'll tell you everything, okay. I'll tell you a-anything that you want to know, but right now—"_

_"_ _Just tell me why."_

_"_ _I-I couldn't. Allison, I couldn't let that be the last memory that you had of her."_

_Derek walks up to them, Erica's body in his arms. The look on his face is pure pain, if he wasn't so strong, he very well might have cried. Tahlia followed behind him, her heart breaking for Derek and a piece of her for Erica. She may not have liked the girl very much, but she was an innocent. That last thought ate away at Tahlia… she had failed. She had failed to protect Erica, but she would not fail Boyd and Cora._

* * *

Isaac meanwhile has found Cora, she's stalking a young woman when he jumps down out of a tree landing on the ground in a crouch. He looks up with a grin, then he charges Cora, she rears back to hit him, but Isaac is quicker, knocking the Beta to the ground with a right hand. She looks up at him, growling. She stands up, grabbing him by the front of his jacket and throwing him up in the air. Isaac's back smashes into a tree branch and then he slams to the ground, he shoves himself up his eyes finding hers as she roars loudly.

From over his head, Scott jumps kicking Cora in the chest, sending her to the ground. Scott lands on his back, pushing with his hands by his head, Scott flips himself back to his feet. Scott and Isaac stand side by side, Cora snarling loudly. From her left comes more snarls, she turns to find Derek, fangs bared. Cora roars, the Alpha elicits a roar of his own in return. Cora backs down, taking off through the woods, the Alpha and Isaac following.

Scott pauses looking towards the girl that has witnessed all of this, he steps towards her, she shrinks back. Scott holds up his hands to show her he won't hurt her, "Are you okay?"

"What?" She stutters.

"Are you all right?" She nods. "You need to get out of here, okay? Get out of the woods. Get out of here as fast as you can." Scott nods to her before he takes off after the others.

Scott gets a phone call from Stiles, he's with Lydia, who called him after she found a body at the pool.

"Are you sure?" Scott asks.

_"_ _Yep. Throat ripped out, blood everywhere. It's like the frickin' Shining over here. If two little twin girls come out of the woods, start asking me to play with them forever and ever, I'm not gonna be surprised."_

"Can you get a little closer to make sure it was them?"

_"_ _Make sure it was them? Scott, who else is going around ripping throats out?"_

"Please just do it."

"This doesn't make any sense." Derek says. "The public pool is all the way on the other side of the woods. We haven't tracked them anywhere near there."

"Derek, they killed someone." Scott reminds him.

"How are they moving so fast?" Derek wonders, as Isaac stands by silently.

"Derek." Scott says.

"They can't be that fast on foot."

"They killed someone." Scott says slowly. "Some totally innocent kid is dead… And it's our fault."

"It's my fault."

"We need help."

"We have Isaac now."

"I mean real help." The two guys look at Scott. "They're too fast for us, for all of us. They're too strong, too rabid."

Derek shakes his head, "We'll catch 'em."

"What happens if we do?" Isaac asks looking to his Alpha, "We just gonna hold them down until the sun comes up?"

Derek's face falls as he thinks, "Maybe it would be easier just to kill 'em."

"Killing them isn't the right thing to do," Scott tells them.

"What if it's the only thing to do?" Isaac adds. "If we can't even catch them, what else do we do?"

"Find someone who knows what they're doing." Scott says.

Derek gets a concerned look, he already has an idea of who Scott is speaking of. "Who?"

"Someone who knows how to hunt werewolves."

At that moment Tahlia steps into the moonlight, the three wolves startle not knowing she was there. She gives a smirk at being able to catch all three of them unaware. Her eyes go straight to Scott, "I know where he is."

* * *

In town outside of the grocery store, Chris Argent is trying to balance two bags of groceries while fighting to retrieve his keys from his jacket pocket. Just as he grabs them, one of the bags drops to the ground.

He sighs heavily, "It has to be the one with the eggs."

He opens the back hatch and places the bag in his arms inside, then retrieves the other from the ground placing it inside as well. Just as he shuts the hatch, he draws his gun turning around. He sighs as he finds Scott and his Niece Tahlia standing behind him.

"Uh, hi." Scott stutters out.

"Hello Chris." Tahlia says giving him a small smile.

* * *

To their left inside of his SUV Derek sits in the drivers seat, Isaac in the passengers seat.

"Do you think this is gonna work?" Isaac asks his Alpha.

"Nope." Derek says sharply.

"Me neither."

After a long pregnant pause, "So your, uh… your sister…"

Derek's head slowly pans to the right, the look on his face is telling Isaac, 'I will kill you'.

"Sorry, yeah, it's—" Isaac clears his throat, "It's bad timing, I'm sorry."

Derek focuses back out the windshield, until, "I'll ask later. It's fine." Again he turns to Isaac, his eyes wide, his eyebrows practically in his hairline. The Beta stutters, "Or never. Yeah, yeah, I'm good with never." Derek nods as he watches Isaac shrink into his seat.

* * *

Back outside, "First of all, why would I care about anyone related to Derek? And second, I don't know this kid Boyd. I don't even know his last name."

"Boyd is his last name."

"What's his first name?"

"Vernon."

"Eh."

"And just curious, is there a reason the gun is still pointed at me?" Scott asks.

Chris looks away thinking, "Well there's probably still some part of me that wants to shoot you."

"I get that."

Chris sighs, putting the gun back behind his back, stepping towards the two. "Scott, I watched my father brainwash my daughter… almost turn her into a killer. That world— your world decimated mine. My wife, sister, father, my entire family. Why would I ever step foot in it again?"

"Because people are gonna die. And because you know how to catch Boyd and Cora without killing them."

"Uncle Chris." The huntress locks eyes with the man, "Please. We need your help."

"I'm sorry Lia. I can't help you." Chris turns walking to the drivers side of his car.

Scott follows him, "Um… Do you think you could do me, like, one little, tiny favor?"

Chris knits his eyebrows together, then motions to the car, which Tahlia and Scott get into. They pull out, Derek following them. Chris drives them to the public pool, supposedly taking the two to their car.

"Left or straight?"

"Left. Sorry. It's right around the corner. In that parking lot there. Yeah, just a little further up. Right here."

In front of them red and blue lights flash from police cars, Chris looks out his window seeing a body on a gurney outside of an ambulance. Chris stares at the parents standing beside the gurney, as he shifts the car into park. Scott and Tahlia watch him carefully as he takes everything in.

"Thanks again for the ride." Scott reaches for the door, when Chris grabs his shoulder.

"They did this? Boyd and, uh…"

"Cora." Scott tells him.

"Where's the last place you saw them?"

* * *

Back in the woods Chris drops a large black duffle bag on the ground, looking at the four wolves in front of him. "You're tracking them by print?"

"Trying to." Scott says.

"Well, then, you've been wasting your time. There's only one creature on Earth that can visually track footprints, and that's man. And if you're not trained like me or Lia, you have no idea that this print is Boyd's and these—"

"Are Cora's." Isaac says smugly.

"Nope." Chris says.

"They're yours." Tahlia tells Isaac.

"I'm impressed." Chris tells her, which causes Tahlia to smirk, giving Chris a wink, "I learned from the best."

Chris nods as he looks back to Isaac, "You trampled Cora's as soon as you walked over here. Listen, I know the three of you are focusing half your energy on resisting your own urges under the full moon, but that puts you at a severe disadvantage to Boyd and Cora, who have fully given in. They put the pedal to the floor, where you three are barely hitting the speed limit."

"So what do we do?" Derek asks, annoyed, is arms crossed over his chest.

"Focus on your sense of smell. Actual wolves are known to track their prey by up to a hundred miles a day by scent. A trained hunter can use scent to track them."

On the other side of the forest, Allison uses her knife to draw a few drops of blood from her wrist and let them drop to the ground. Somewhere in the vast forest, Boyd picks up her scent.

"If the wind is with them, wolves can track a scent by a distance of two miles, which means we can draw them to us… or into a trap."

While Allison is busy setting up traps of her own, Chris tosses a black net to Scott, "Full moon does give us one advantage. They'll have a higher heat signature, which makes them easier to spot with infrared."

Chris picks up three headsets, in turn tossing them to the wolves. Derek tosses them back, the Alpha reminding him, "Thanks, but I've got my own." He flashes his red eyes, to reiterate his point.

"Just remember, we're not hunting wild animals. Underneath those impulses are two intelligent human begins. Don't think they can't rely on that human side. It's suppressed, but it's there, reminding them how to mask their scent, how to cover their tracks, how to survive."

The five of them step up to the cliff overlooking Beacon Hills, Chris asks Derek, "When's the last time you saw your sister?"

"Nine years. I thought she died in the fire."

"Do you feel like you have a lock on her scent?"

Derek shakes his head, Chris turns to Scott. "Scott, how confident are you in your skills?"

"Honestly, most of the time, I'm trying not to think about all the things I can smell."

Chris sighs, "All right. The problem is when they breach the woods and hit the residential area. Once they're past the high school, they're right in the middle of Beacon Hills."

"They're not gonna kill everything they see, are they?" Isaac questions.

"No. But there is an important difference to recognize. Wolves hunt for food. At a certain point, they get full. Boyd and Cora are hunting for the pleasure of the kill, for some primal apex predatory satisfaction that comes from the ripping of warm bodies to bloody shreds. And who knows when that need gets satiated?"

"We can't kill them." Scott tells him.

"What if we can't catch 'em?" Derek says.

"Then maybe we just need to contain them." Tahlia offers looking around at the men, Chris catches on to what she's thinking, but none of the others have, so she lets them onto her plan. "There's no one in the school at night, is there?"

"You want to trap them inside?" Derek asks.

Chris answers him, "If there's somewhere with a strong enough door, no windows or access to the outside."

"What about the boiler room?" Isaac offers. "It's just one big steel door."

Chris's mind is running quickly as he thinks, "You're sure the school's empty?"

"It has to be." Scott says looking around at the group. "There can't be anyone there this late, right?"

* * *

But as it turns out, there is someone there this late at night. Ms. Blake, the new teacher is working late, trying to catch up on her papers. She's in her classroom, with no idea what is about to come her way.

* * *

Chris grabs a silver stake out of the back of his car, stabbing it into the ground, "These are ultrasonic emitters. It's one of the tools we use to corral werewolves, pushing them into a direction we want them to run." He presses the button on the top, it releases a bright light. "Gives off a high pitched frequency, that only they can hear."

"God, no kidding. Turn it off! Turn it off!" Isaac growls out, Chris and Tahlia smirk as they look up to see the three wolves covering their ears, grimaces on their faces.

Chris opens a container in the back of his car, dozens more of the stakes sit inside. He hands two to each of the wolf pack.

"These are gonna drive them to the school?" Derek asks as he takes them.

"And then it's up to you to get them into the basement." Chris says nodding.

"Does anyone else want to rethink the plan where we just, uh, kill 'em?" Isaac says, earning him a glare from both his Alphas.

Scott looks to his friend, "It's going to work." Derek gives him a skeptical look, Scott reiterates, "It'll work."

The three wolves run through the woods, placing the stakes throughout their route. Chris drives his car, Tahlia in the passenger seat, dropping a stake out of her window into the ground. Derek hurls one, nailing it into the bark of a tree. At the school, Scott front flips down off the top of a bus, sticking the last stake into the ground. He stares up at the school, dark and foreboding in front of him.

* * *

Back in the woods, Derek kneels down setting his last stake.

"And the hunted becomes the hunter. You really think a few high-tech dog whistles are gonna help?"

Derek turns his head to his Uncle, "I don't see you offering a hand." He stands up, turning to face him.

"Personally, I'm trying to cut down on futile endeavors."

"Cora's alive."

"I heard. Let's throw the reunion party when she's not an unstoppable killing machine."

"I can stop her."

"Sure you can, by killing her… Which happens to be the point of this little exercise. Deucalion wants you to kill them. He wants you to get rid of his baggage, making it easier for you to join his pack. The fact that it was supposed to happen in the vault, and not up here, out in the open, doesn't change his plan. It just means that Boyd and Cora are gonna kill a few innocent people first."

"And I should just let them? I should be okay with innocent people dying?"

"Unless you're okay killing your own."

"I can catch 'em." Derek tells him firmly.

"Oh, come on. How much damage can they do? So they off a few homeless people, a drunk stumbling out of a bar too late. So what? Let Scott deal with it. Let him be the hero of his morally black and white world. The real survivors, you and I, we live in shades of gray. Then again, even if you did kill them, you're still an Alpha."

Peter reaches down pressing the button, turning on the stake. "You can always make more werewolves."

* * *

Tahlia stands outside with her Uncle as Scott and Isaac rip the front doors to the school open. She moves over next to Chris who sets up the final stake, Scott runs over standing next to them. Chris is staring at the small lights moving around them, "Do you see that?"

"Yeah, it's a firefly." Scott says.

"No, no, I know, it—"

"What?" Scott asks as he sees the concern on his face.

"It's, uh, it's very unusual. The, uh California fireflies aren't bioluminescent. They don't glow."

"Does that mean something?" Scott asks.

Before Chris can answer, they hear howling in the distance. Derek stands inside the school, just in the open doors waiting. Isaac is out front, he hears growls behind him. "Oh great," he says turning around to find Boyd and Cora staring him down. Isaac's eyes flash yellow as he prepares for the attack, but before they can, Chris drives up in his car, headlights shining and horn honking, "Come on."

It works as the two run past Isaac to the open doors, inside Derek flicks out his claws. The two stop as they see him in front of them, and suddenly they leap up out of sight.

"They're not going through the school. They're going over it." Scott tells Tahlia, as Chris runs up to them.

The group meets up in front of the school, Chris tells Derek, "The red doors, someone has to get them open."

Derek takes off inside, Scott turns to Chris, "Someone has to drive them inside."

"I'll go," Chris offers holding up his cattle prod.

"No." Isaac says, "'I'm faster." He rounds the back of the school to find bright flashes of light going off around Boyd and Cora, finally driving them inside the school. He shuts the door behind them, locking it, he looks up on top of the school bus to find Allison, bow in hand. She realizes Isaac has seen her and takes off running.

Inside the school as Boyd and Cora round a corner, Cora gets slammed into the lockers by her brother, then he throws her across the floor by Boyd. The male Beta growls at him, Chris comes in from the left side, cattle prod glowing, Tahlia behind him flash bolt aimed. Scott jumps down from the staircase on the right, landing in a crouch in front of Derek.

The two wolves stand side by side, Derek eyes the two Betas, "Come and get us." Derek leads the way through the door and down the staircase leading to the boiler room. Derek rips open the steel door, the two scrambling inside as Boyd and Cora make their way down the stairs. The door slams shut behind them, nothing but their yellow eyes glowing in the pitch black darkness.

They walk down the small steps, their claws scratching the rails as they descend. They turn a corner only to be shot with CO2 from two fire extinguishers that Scott and Derek are holding. They turn running up the small stairs and back down the hallway, they run out, slamming the steel door shut behind them and Derek locking it. Scott stands back, leaning against the wall while Derek leans against the door.

"Did that actually just work?" Scott asks.

"It worked," Derek says, letting out a breath.

The two of them lean back against the wall, staring at the door as the two Betas pound on it from the other side. Derek slides down the wall sitting on the floor, Scott approaches the door, listening carefully.

Derek eyes him, "What are you hearing?"

"Heartbeats."

"Both of 'em?" Derek asks, leaning back against the wall.

"Actually… Three of them."

The two wolves eye one another, knowing nothing good is going to come of this. They stare at the door, before Derek steps over reaching for the handle.

"What are you doing?" Scott asks him.

"Close the door behind me and keep it shut."

"You go in there alone. And you're either gonna kill them, or they kill you."

"That's why I'm going in alone." Derek opens the door and shuts it behind him, Scott locking it.

Everywhere in the school, the snarls and growls echo. Argent and Isaac hear them, coming into the school to aid the wolves. Tahlia stands stricken next to her Uncle, the sounds pound into her head as she visualizes Derek being torn apart by the out of control Betas. She breaks her Uncle's hold and runs down the stairs only to have Scott hold her back as she tries to open the door.

Suddenly the two hear Isaac, "Scott! The suns coming up. Scott! The suns coming up!"

Isaac comes down into the stairwell as Scott opens the steel door, he keeps Tahlia behind him incase something happens. The three round the corner to find Boyd and Cora unconscious on the ground. Derek is sitting on his knees in between them, his shirt slashed front to back, bloody gashes all over his body and face, slowly healing.

Panting Derek raises his head, claw marks mar his left cheek, "There's a teacher. I'll take care of her." He's breathing heavily, "Get them out of here."

As Scott and Isaac take the two Betas out, Tahlia comes over helping Derek to his feet. With a thank you smile he pulls away from her walking over to the supply cage. Slowly, he moves towards the teacher, she huddles behind the shelf. Derek holds out his right hand to her, slowly and uncertainly she takes his hand.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer - I do not own Teen Wolf or anything related to it. I only own my original character Tahlia and her family, and anything else that seems out of place.

* * *

 

A few days after they had caught Boyd and Cora, Tahlia got a phone call from Allison. The twins had attacked Isaac during school, this pissed Tahlia off on two levels, 1) Isaac being her favorite next to Scott and Stiles, 2) the fact that they were blatantly showing off somewhere where anyone could see them, put not only the wolves at risk, but her family as well being hunters.

She shows up at the school and finds Scott outside, just as she is about to ask what's going on Scott hears something and takes off running, Tahlia following close behind, hand on her gun at her back. Scott rips a vending machine from in front of a storage closet door, he runs inside grabbing a semi-shifted Isaac by the shoulders and throwing him out the door away from Allison, who he almost attacked.

Tahlia checks on her cousin as Scott grabs Isaac by his throat, the Beta struggling to get up and attack, yellow eyes flashing.

"Isaac!"

The commanding tone in Scott's voice brings Isaac back, harnessing the wolf back in its cage. Scott turns to check on Allison, eyeing the scratches on her right wrist from Isaac's claws.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that."

"I'm okay."

"I'm so sorry." The apologetic tone in Isaac's voice is strong as he leans against the wall.

Scott turns glaring down at Isaac, Allison notices and tries to make things better. "It's not his fault."

"I know. I guess now we know they want to do more than get you angry. They want to get someone hurt."

"So are we gonna do something, Scott?" Tahlia asks hoping the wolf agrees with her as she is having a hard time keeping her anger in check.

"Yeah. I'm gonna get them angry... really angry."

 

* * *

 

After making a plan Tahlia and Scott go outside to the twins' motorcycles, the Beta watches intently as she takes out her tools and quickly dismantles several key parts off of one of the bikes, placing them into Scott's backpack. The teen goes back inside as Tahlia keeps watch until she sees Isaac come out of the school, Allison waits at the doors keeping a look out. The wolf watches as Tahlia kneels down next to the bike, "How long is this gonna take?"

She stands up with a smile, reaching over and hitting the start button on the bike, it roars to life as Isaac settles into the seat. Tahlia gives him a quick rundown of how to ride it. "Pull back with your left hand. Kick down to put in gear. Front brake. Throttle. Back brake for stopping. Try not to crash." She winks.

"Yeah. Been there, done that."

She steps back snapping a picture of him on the bike with her phone and sending it to Scott who stands in the doorway of the classroom he has with Ethan and Aiden.

 

* * *

 

Ms. Blake addresses them, "Okay, everyone, I know this is the last class of the day. To be honest, I want to get out of here, too."

Scott takes a seat next to the twins, both of them on his left in a row. He looks over at them smiling, before reaching down into his bag and pulling out one of the bike parts, spinning it around on his finger before setting it on the desk. "That looks kind of important." He pulls another part out, "I have no idea what this thing does."

The three of them hear a motorcycle rev outside and just like suspected, one of them takes off out the door, the other yelling behind him. "Wait. Aiden, don't!"

Isaac rides the bike into the school, down the hallway towards the classroom. He spots Aiden in front of him and hits the front brake stopping the bike.

"Get off my bike!"

Isaac lifts the helmet off, smiling, "No problem." He places his hands on Aiden's back before front flipping over the Alpha, landing on the ground and walking away as Aiden gets onto his bike. He joins Scott, Allison and Tahlia as they stand in the hallway smiling. More students fill the hall as they try to see what the commotion is all about, Ms. Blake storms around the foursome staring incredulously at the teen on the bike.

"You have got to be kidding me." Aiden looks up at the teacher in shock. "You realize this is gonna result in a suspension."

Aiden looks over at the two wolves and two huntresses, not even bothering to hide the smiles on their faces, Scott flicks his eyebrows up in a 'how about that' gesture.

 

* * *

 

After class Tahlia meets up with the boys, she's going to give Isaac a ride back to Derek's. As they walk down the steps to the first floor Isaac laughs, "Yeah, I wish I could've seen their faces. They look seriously pissed?"

"Oh, yeah." Tahlia chuckles.

The three stop in the hallway, right in front of them are the twins and they do not look the least bit amused.

"Kind of like that." Scott tells them.

The twins rip off their jacket and shirts, Ethan kneels down and Aiden plunges his hand into his brothers back. Bones crack and combine as the two transform into the giant Alpha, it gives a loud roar as it stares them down.

Isaac drops his bag, pulling up his sleeves, "We can take 'em."

Tahlia pulls her gun out from her waist band preparing to fire when Scott grabs her arm. "Are you kidding?" He and Tahlia start to run, Scott looks back at the Beta still standing there. "Isaac!"

The three take off down the hall but the giant is twice as fast as they are. It swats at Tahlia knocking her into the row of lockers to the left, she crumples to the ground like ragdoll. Then it grabs both Beta's by the back of the necks, lifting them up and smacking them together before tossing them down the hallway from where it came. Tahlia looks up seeing the giant separating her from the boys, the Alpha roars but quickly quiets down, looking sheepish as a man with a walking stick steps from behind the two teens up to the front of the giant. The giant breaks back into the twins, they stand stoically as the man removes the red cap from the end of his stick, revealing a very sharp arrowhead blade. He swipes it across the twins left cheeks, leaving a bleeding cut in its absence then replacing the cap before he walks down the hallway past Tahlia, the twins following.

"Who the hell is that?" Isaac asks his friend.

Scott stares down the hallway after the man, "Deucalion."

 

* * *

 

Tahlia takes Isaac back to the loft, Derek is in a very peculiar mood. She stands by the door watching the interaction between the Alpha and his Beta, Cora seems to be nowhere to be found, but Tahlia knows she is there. Derek stands silently looking out the window at the rain falling, a sudden brutal storm had manifested just as they had arrived at the loft.

"I don't get it. Well, did something happen?"

"It's just not gonna work with both of you here. I've got Cora now, it's too much. I need you out tonight."

Isaac scoffs not believing what he's hearing. "Where am I supposed to go?"

"Somewhere else."

"Did I do something wrong, Derek?"

Derek finally turns around facing his Beta, "You're doing something wrong right now by not leaving."

"Come on."

He points to the door. "Just get out."

"Derek, please."

"Get out."

"Come on." Isaac says with a slight laugh hoping this is a joke.

"Go!" Derek throws the glass in his hand against the beam Isaac is standing against, the Beta ducks covering his face as it shatters, shards falling to the floor. The teen stands up glancing at his Alpha over his shoulder before picking up his bag and walking to the door.

Tahlia gives him an apologetic look, "Do you want me to give you lift?"

Isaac shakes his head before slamming the door shut behind him.

Tahlia turns back to Derek who is now leaning forward on the desk, she walks across the floor stopping on the opposite side from him, her arms crossed across her chest. "You wanna tell me what that was about?" Derek looks up at her, opening his mouth but she stops him. "The truth. Not that bullshit story you just told him, Derek."

He sighs, "No one is safe around me. Deucalion wants me to kill my pack. They're better off away from me."

Tahlia shakes her head, scoffing at him which earns her a glare from the Alpha. "You can't be that stupid, can you?" A growl is her response, but she doesn't falter, he doesn't scare her anymore. "I had the pleasure of meeting Deucalion about an hour ago and you wanna know what my impression of him is? He will kill all of us to get to you, whether we are part of your pack or not. The twins already tried to kill my cousin by agitating Isaac to the point where he wanted to rip her to shreds. Then they personally came after myself, Scott and Isaac today at the school. The only thing that stopped the latter was Deucalion arriving and stopping them. I'm not sure why he stopped them but I intend to find out."

"It's better this way. I'm only doing it to protect him."

"And what about your sister? She's still here, doesn't that put her in danger too? Why not make her leave as well. Is it because she has nowhere to go? Newsflash, Derek, neither does Isaac."

"He's got you." Derek says the bitterness flowing through his voice.

The huntress nods, pursing her lips. "Yeah, he does have me. At least I know that when it comes to saving people, you have to be there for them in the first place. You made the decision to keep me at arms length Derek, so that bitter tone you're using with me, is all on you." She steps around the desk leaning down, her lips brushing Derek's ear. "Let me give you a little piece of information Derek. Pushing people away doesn't always make them safe, sometimes, it makes them easier targets."

With that said Tahlia walks away, leaving a very angry Alpha behind her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer - I do not own Teen Wolf or anything related to it. I only own my original character Tahlia and her family, and anything else that seems out of place.

* * *

 

The gray skies were alive, lashing out with lightning bolts and huge booms of thunder. Tahlia couldn't help but think that mother nature was using the storm to echo hers and the packs feelings. Tahlia sat at the front of the bus behind the driver, her back against the glass, legs stretched across the seat. To anyone else it looked like she was relaxing, reading something on her iPad, but in actuality she was watching the werewolves sitting towards the back of the bus. In her bag on the floor Tahlia could see her Glock sitting on top of her spare clothes, if anything happened all she had to do was reach down and grab it. She hoped nothing would happen that would require her to shoot someone, it would be a little hard to explain why a teacher had to shoot a student.

After the Alphas had shown up, Tahlia did just as her family suggested and put her teaching degree to use. She got a job at the high school teaching archery and Physical Education, it was a pretty lenient job, she and Coach traded off of teaching classes so they each had a break. So naturally when it came time for a field trip to the cross country meet, she was picked to accompany Coach Finstock on the journey.

She could see Boyd becoming agitated and restless with Ethan sitting across the bus with Danny. After what had happened she didn't blame him in the least, she herself wanted nothing more than to unload a quiver full of arrows into Ethan's internal organs in alphabetical order.

Isaac shook his head looking at his friend, "Stop thinking about it, man."

"What, you're not thinking about it, too?"

Isaac sighs, "We'll both stop thinking about it."

"I can't."

"Well, there's nothing you can do about it either."

"You sure about that?"

Boyd's attention turns behind him, two seats behind him to his right sits Ethan and Danny. Ethan seems to be distracted, constantly glancing down at his phone with a concerned look.

"Everything okay?"

Ethan smiles, "Yeah. Why?"

"You checked your phone three times in the last five minutes."

"Waiting for a message."

"Anything important?"

"No." His smile fades as Danny looks away from him. "Nothing." Ethan glances behind him to the back of the bus where Scott and Stiles sit in the last seat.

 

* * *

 

Scott has his head resting against the window, he seems to be lost in his dreams. Stiles swipes away at his iPad next to his friend, when he realizes Scott isn't paying attention.

"Yo, Scotty." Stiles snaps his fingers. "Hey, yo, Scotty. Still with me?"

"Yeah, sorry. Uh, what's the word?"

"Anachronism."

"Something that exists out of its normal time."

"Nice. Okay, next word, "Incongruous."

"Um, can you use it in a sentence."

"Yes. Yes, I can. It's completely incongruous that we're sitting on a bus right now on our way to some stupid cross country meet after what just happened, incongruous."

"Out of place, ridiculous, absurd."

"Okay, next word. Um, Darach. Darach, it's a noun." He pans his head to the left to find Scott giving him an off look, Stiles sighs. "We have to talk about it sometime, okay? And we're gonna be stuck in this thing for, like, five hours, so why not?"

Scott leans his head against the window ignoring Stiles. The teen sighs going back to his tablet, "Next word. (clears his throat) "Intransigent."

"Stubborn, obstinate." The bus hits a large bump and Scott groans grabbing his left side.

"Oh, buddy, you okay? We shouldn't have come. I knew it. We shouldn't have come."

"We had to. There's safety in numbers."

"Yeah, well, there's also death in numbers, okay? It's called a massacre or bloodbath, carnage, slaughter, butchery, wow, that's…"

Scott moans in pain and Stiles shakes his head. "All right, Scott, I'm telling Coach and Tahlia that…"

"No. No, no, no. I'm all right."

"Well, you don't look all right. Would you just let me see it?" Stiles reaches for Scott's side causing the wolf to flinch.

"I'm okay."

"Just let me see it, okay?"

"Okay." Scott leans to his right, lifting up his white shirt to reveal two large nasty gashes across the left side of his torso. They don't seem to be healing like they should.

"Oh, dude…"

"I know it's bad, but it's because they're from an Alpha. It'll take longer to heal."

"How come Boyd and Isaac are fine then?"

Scott leans his head back against the window. "I can't believe he's dead." Then after a pregnant pause. "I can't believe Derek's dead."

 

* * *

 

Tahlia was thankful for her ear piece that magnified any sound or voice that was around you, so it was almost as if she had werewolf hearing herself. Until Scott's last statement that is. After that she wished she couldn't hear at all.

She glanced down at her left arm, the red eyes of the Alpha wolf staring back into hers, burning into her soul just as Derek's used to do. Her heart told her Derek was still alive, but her mind said no one could've survived that fall, she wasn't sure which to believe at this point.

She flinches as she hears Coach blow his whistle, the two teachers had agreed to let him be the Alpha, no pun intended, during the trip. Which was fine with Tahlia as she wasn't concerned with the meet, she was only concerned with keeping the pack safe from the Alphas. Now she had failed two people. She was not letting the rest out of her sight.

"You two back in your seats. Jared, again, car sick? Every… How do you even get on the bus? Look at me. No, don't look at me. Look at the horizon. Keep your eyes… Keep your eyes on the horizon. McCall, not you too."

This catches Tahlia's attention and she sits up further her eyes finding the Beta's in the back. She can tell how much effort he's putting into not grimacing in pain.

"No, Coach, I'm good."

"Hey, Scott, you're bleeding again. And don't tell me that it's just taking longer to heal, okay? Because I'm pretty sure that still bleeding means not healing, like, at all."

"He's listening." Scott nods towards Ethan.

"Is he gonna do something?"

"Not in front of this many people."

"Okay, well, what about the two ticking time bombs sitting right near him?"

"No, they won't. Not here."

"Okay, well, what if they do? Are you gonna stop them?"

"If I have to."

The bus comes to an abrupt halt causing everyone to jolt forward in their seats, or in Tahlia's case sideways. Out of the bus's windshield everyone can see a long line of cars wrapping up and around the bend in front of them.

"Great. Traffic jam." Tahlia mutters as she tips her head back, smacking it against the window. She sits up glancing back at her favorite blonde who always seems to have the answers she seeks. "Hey Isaac, any news?"

He looks up smiling at her. "There's a jackknifed tractor a few miles ahead."

She groans laying her forehead down on the back of the seat. "Wonderful."

Isaac laughs putting his phone down. "Could miss the meet." He notices his companion isn't paying attention to him. "Boyd?" He looks over to find the teen staring intently ahead, small growls leaving his throat. "Boyd?"

Tahlia straightens up as she hears the growls praying she is simply hearing things, but she is confirmed when she sees Boyd's glowing yellow eyes. "Oh, shit." She reaches down grabbing her gun, double checking her silencer is still attached and placing it beneath the sweatshirt lying on her lap. She sees Scott fighting to stand up, he nods to her letting her know he's going to stop Boyd. She returns the nod but still keeps a hold of the gun incase Scott can't handle the Beta in his current state.

Stiles notices Scott standing up. "What… What… Scott? Where are you going?"

"Boyd he's gonna do something."

"Okay, what? How do you know?"

"Look at his hands."

Sure enough when Stiles looks up Boyd's claws are gripping the seat in front of him. Scott stands up moving towards Boyd, as he does he recalls his last conversation with Deaton.

 _"_ _I don't know what else to do. Do I keep trying to get them to listen to me? Do I tell Derek that he's gonna get them all killed? How do you save someone who doesn't want to be saved? How do I stop them?"_

 _"_ _Don't stop them. Lead them."_

Scott reaches down, grabbing Boyd's hand in his tight grip causing the Beta to look up at him as he kneels down to eye level.

"Let go?"

"You got a plan? Tell me your brilliant plan, and I'll let go. What are you gonna do? Kill him right here? And then what? What are you gonna do after that?"

"I don't care."

Boyd lunges for Ethan but both Scott and Isaac hold him down in the seat.

"I do."

Isaac looks over Boyd's arm noticing the blood on Scott's torso. "Whoa, whoa, you're still hurt."

"I'm fine. Give me a chance to figure something out, something that doesn't have to end with someone else dying."

"Okay."

Tahlia takes a breath as she puts her gun back in the bag. Scott gingerly stands back up moving towards his seat, Stiles stands up to let him sit back down. "Crisis averted?"

"Mmm hmm."

"Okay, good. Cause we got another problem. Ethan keeps checking his phone, like, every five minutes. It's like he's waiting for something, you know, like, a message or signal of some kind. I don't know, something evil though, I can tell. I have a very perceptive eye for evil, but you know that."

"I don't like him sitting with Danny."

"Yeah, neither do I." Stiles pulls out his phone. "I'm gonna see what he's waiting for."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm gonna ask."

Danny's phone chimes signaling he has a message, he takes it out of his jacket pocket reading the screen. It's from Stiles.  _'Find out why Ethan keeps checking his phone.'_

Danny looks back over his shoulder to Stiles who holds up his phone smiling and nodding to Ethan. Danny shakes his head no before turning back around. He puts his phone back in his pocket, only for it to chime again.  _'Just do it!'_

Danny shakes his head not believing Stiles audacity.  _'No.'_  He texts back.

 _'_ _ASK HIM.'_

Danny turns back to Stiles again, shaking his head.  _'NO. I like this guy. What's wrong with you?'_

 _'_ _It's important. PLEASE.'_

Danny shakes his head, putting his phone away. In the back Stiles is flipping out, throwing his hands up. Danny's phone repeatedly chimes, he chooses to ignore it, but the constant sound catches Ethan's attention.

"Something wrong?" Ethan asks him.

"Actually, I was… wondering the same thing about you."

Ethan quickly looks back at Scott and Stiles who quickly duck their heads behind the seat. Stiles groaning out, "Well, that wasn't very subtle."

Ethan looks back forward, as Scott and Stiles sit up, the pain on Scott's face is more than evident now. Stiles phone chimes, he glances down at it,  _'Someone close to him is sick. Might not make it through the night.'_

"Ennis?" Scott wonders.

"Okay, so does that mean, uh—"

"He's not dead."

"Not yet."

Tahlia is thinking about Derek, she can't shake him from her mind, it's like he's constantly reminding her that she has failed as a protector. Not that she needed a reminder, Tahlia was being hard enough on herself without memories of Derek to help.

Coach meanwhile is trying to keep Jared from vomiting, "Jared, I'm warning you. I'm an empathetic vomiter. You throw up, I'm gonna throw up right back on you. And it will be profoundly disgusting."

"Please don't talk about throwing up." The kid tells Coach. "It's not good."

"I might throw up on you just to make a point, Jared."

"It's not good. It's not good."

"Now the rest of you, don't think we're gonna miss this meet because of a slight traffic jam, a minor tornado warning, Jared. We're gonna make this thing. Nothing is gonna stop us! Stilinski, put your hand down."

"You know, there's, like, a food exit about a half a mile up. I don't know if we stop and then maybe traffic—"

"We're not gonna stop."

"Okay, but if we stop—"

"Stilinski!" Coach blows his whistle, "Shut it! Seriously! It's a little bus! Stop asking me questions!"

Stiles sits back down with a sigh covering his mouth, "I hate him. Did you call Deaton?"

Scott sighs, "I keep getting his voicemail."

"That's it." Stiles reaches for his phone in his pocket. "I'm calling Lydia and Allison."

"How are they gonna help, back in Beacon Hills?"

"They're not. They've been following us for hours. Pathetic."

Lydia's phone rings, she looks at the screen and at Allison before answering, "Hey, Stiles. Yeah, we're just about to walk into a movie, uh, you know, the popcorn and—"

"I know you guys are right behind us. Put me on speaker."

"Oh, okay." Lydia pulls the phone from her ear, putting the speakerphone on.

"Okay, look, Scott's still hurt."

"What do you mean still? He's not healing?" Allison asks.

"No, he's not healing. I think he's actually getting worse. The bloods turning, like, a black color."

"W-what's wrong with him?" Lydia asks.

"What's wrong with him? I don't— do I have a PhD in Lycanthropy. How am I supposed to know that?"

"We need to get him off the bus." Allison says.

"And take him where, a hospital?" Lydia asks her.

"If he's dying, yeah."

"Stiles, there's a rest area about a mile up. Tell the Coach to pull over."

"Yeah, I've been trying."

"Well, reason with him."

"Reason? Have you met this guy?" Stiles says exasperated.

"Just try something."

Stiles hangs up the phone, standing up he approaches the Coach, "Coach, It's five minutes for a bathroom break, okay? We've been on this thing for, like, three hours—"

Coach blows his whistle.

"It's 60 miles to the next rest stop—"

He blows it again.

"Being cooped up for hours is not good—"

And again.

"You know, our bladders aren't exactly—"

And again.

"Coach—"

And again.

"This is—"

And again.

"Can you—"

And again.

"Please—"

Every time Stiles opens his mouth to speak, Coach blows the whistle.

"Let me talk! I'm—"

Whistle again. Coach laughs.

"Every time—"

Whistle again, only this time he holds it, whistling long.

"Get back to your seat, Stilinski!"

"Okay!" Stiles yells, wiping his mouth before turning around.

"And Jared, keep your eyes on the horizon."

Stiles stops, he looks over at Jared, a plan forming in his head. He sits down next to the kid, "Hey, Jared."

The kid looks at him queasily.

"How you doing?" Stiles face breaks into a seriously evil grin.

 

* * *

 

The next thing everyone knows is Jared hurling all over the bus, they pull up to the rest stop and everyone scrambles off desperate to get away from the stench. Coach opens a window sticking head and arm out spraying an air freshener. "Jared, you suck! Hey, somebody grab some towels or a mop or a new bus.

Tahlia helps Stiles carry Scott into the bathroom, sitting him down on the floor in between the sinks. Tahlia lifts his shirt up studying the wound and sure enough it is bleeding black blood, worse it looks like it's beginning to get infected. Tahlia's concerned gaze meets his pain filled brown eyes. "Scott. Why didn't you tell us?"

"Sorry."

"Okay. Just give us a second, okay?" She stands up turning to face, Stiles, Lydia and Allison. "This shouldn't be happening. I've seen him heal from worse than this."

"Okay, what do we do then? Do we just call an ambulance?" Stiles asks his voice filled with worry for his best friend.

"What if… What if it's too late? What if they can't help?" Alli asks her attention on her older cousin.

Stiles sighs, "We've got to do something."

"You know, it could be psychological." Lydia tells them as she studies Scott.

"What do you mean, like, psychosomatic?" Stiles asks.

"Somatoformic."

Stiles attempts to say the word but can't, so Lydia explains it for him. "A physical illness from a psychogenic cause." Stiles waves his hand trying to get her to the point. "Yes, it's all in his head."

"All in his head?"

"Because of Derek." Tahlia says closing her eyes briefly. "He's not letting himself heal cause Derek died." She chokes on the last word still not able to accept the Alphas fate.

"So what do we do?" Allison asks hoping they can find a way to help Scott.

Lydia meanwhile rummages through her purse pulling out a sewing kit and thread. "Stitch him up. I'm serious. Maybe all he needs to do is just believe it's healing."

Allison takes the kit opening it and pulling out a needle, which she sterilizes with a lighter flame. She looks down at Stiles, "He's gonna need another shirt. Where's his bag?"

"Um, I'm gonna get it, I hate needles anyway, so… Uh, do you know what you're doing?"

"Yeah, my father taught me."

"I mean, how fast are you gonna… I mean, the bus, like, the bus could leave."

Tahlia sets a hand on the teen's shoulder, "We'll make sure it doesn't Stiles."

"I can help. Come on." Lydia drags Stiles out of the bathroom.

"You can do this Alli. I know you can. I'm gonna go hold the bus, okay?"

The girl nods at her cousin before she leaves the bathroom, leaving Allison with Scott.

 

* * *

 

Outside Tahlia is determined not to allow that bus to leave, so she makes sure to stand by the door, not allowing anyone back on it. However short of shooting the Coach, she has no choice but to allow him as head teacher to get everyone back on the bus. She spots Allison coming out of the bathroom with Scott, she rushes over to help her get him on the bus.

"We're gonna have to ride with you guys, my cars out of gas,"

"That's fine, we'll call your dad on the way back and have him come meet us to get it. Come on, we have to hurry."

They head for the bus but notice a group huddled together, screaming and yelling can be heard from the teens. Stiles runs up to them and Scott asks what's happening.

"They went after him. I told them what was happening with you, and he just went after him."

"Who Boyd?"

The four push their way into the circle and surprisingly it's not Boyd who attacked Ethan… but Isaac.

"Isaac, Isaac, Isaac!" Coach yells trying to get the teen to stop but his words fall on deaf ears.

"Isaac!" Scott loud commanding voice stops the Beta in his tracks, he looks up at Scott smiling as he sees he's alright. Danny rushes in to help Ethan to his feet.

The group boards the bus, as it starts to drive once again, Scott lays his head against the window falling into a fitful doze dreaming about last night.

 

* * *

 

_The wolves all stand facing one another, everyone waiting to see who makes the first move. That move is made by Derek who growls, charging Deucalion. Kali cuts him off, kicking him in the chest and knocking him back._

_The twins leap down from the second story, transforming into the giant wolf as they touch the ground._

_Derek is battling Kali, while Boyd and Cora are dealing with Ennis. Isaac takes a long look at Scott before he shifts charging the giant, who easily swats him to the ground._

_Scott shakes his head before he shifts, charging the giant who picks him up and throws the Beta into the concrete wall behind him, Scott's body leaves a giant hole in the wall where his body hits._

_Cora is knocked down with a slash to her back from Ennis. Kali tosses Derek away from her and gives Boyd a spinning kick to the chest, slicing him open as he's being held by Ennis._

_The giant slices Scott across his left torso, before grabbing Isaac and dragging him over towards his friends. Kali has her foot on Cora's throat, pinning her to the floor. And the giant has both Isaac and Scott by the necks._

_"_ _Kill him." Deucalion says to Derek._

_Derek looks down at Boyd, as Deucalion descends the stairs. "You're beaten. Do it, Derek. Take the first step."_

_"_ _Are we serious with this kid?" Kali asks incredulously. "Look at him. He's an Alpha? To what? A couple of useless teenagers?"_

 _"_ _Some have more promise than others."_

 _"_ _Let him rise to the occasion then. What'll it be, Derek? Pack or family?"_

_Derek looks around at his pack members, his family. The look on his face tells him he's not sure what to do. Before he can make one however, an arrow sings through the air exploding in light on the giant, which separates it into the twins again. Kali screams shielding her eyes, as another explodes near her. One after another bolts of light explode around them._

_Deucalion kneels down to avoid the arrows, "Your eyes! Cover your eyes!"_

 

* * *

 

_Allison and Tahlia sit in the apartment trying to make to Chris understand, "Someone needs to help them."_

_"_ _Not us. I'm getting the consulting business back up and running, and you need to graduate. That's a normal life, and it's what we agreed to." He opens the book before him as a point that the conversation is over._

 _"_ _So, we just ignore it?"_

 _"_ _We stay out of it."_

 _"_ _There's a pack of Alphas that's trying to kill my friends. How do I stay out of that?"_

 _"_ _There's a saying for these kind of situations, the kinds you have to navigate carefully. It's called, "threading the needle." It's finding a safe path between two opposing forces."_

 _"_ _Sounds like saving your own ass." Tahlia says crossing her arms over her chest._

 _"_ _They're not your family."_

 _"_ _With all the family that I've lost, I could use a few friends." She and Tahlia get up, walking out the door._

 _"_ _Allison. Tahlia."_

 

* * *

 

_Scott looks up above Deucalion to find that there are two archers helping them. He realizes they are Allison and Tahlia. Scott and Isaac jump up ready for the round two. Derek picks up Boyd, placing his arm around Cora's neck, "Take him."_

_Scott growls charging Ennis, the sound of them clashing chests is almost like thunder. Everyone watches in disbelief as Scott shoves Ennis, throwing him backwards. Deucalion stares at Scott._

_Scott slides back a few feet, crouching, as he lifts his head his eyes are red, Alpha red. Allison and Tahlia stand overhead still watching, they can't believe they just saw Scott's eyes red. Scott shakes his head and his eyes return to normal._

_Ennis has been so distracted by Scott that he forgets about Derek, who comes from behind shoving him. Ennis turns around, dodging three swipes from Derek before slashing him across the chest and sending him rolling across the floor. Derek stands back up, leaping into the air he punches Ennis. The two of them grab one another's shoulders, struggling to bring the other down, both standing on the edge of the floor._

_Scott struggles holding his wound as he scrambles across the floor trying to reach Derek to help. Scott comes from the right slashing at Ennis's leg, the Alpha yelling out in pain. The two of them fall backwards._

_Tahlia cries out as Scott leans over the edge watching him plummet to the floor below. The sound of his body slamming into the escalator reverberates through the empty structure. The tears flow with abandonment as she wills Derek to get up, open his eyes, make one tiny move so she knows he's alive._

 

* * *

 

Scott opens up his eyes finding Allison sitting next to him smiling. In front of them Stiles is trying to figure things out with Lydia's help.

"All right. Let's go over this one more time. So it's the sacrifices, right? Everything has to do with them and someone who thinks he's, like, a dark druid of some kind."

"Or actually is a dark druid."

"A Darach."

"You know, some ancient cultures sacrificed people in preparation for battle."

"So we got Alpha werewolves against a dark druid."

"Yeah."

Allison turns towards Scott, she's trying to help him understand. "You know, if he's really dead, it's not your fault."

"Maybe. But remember that whole thing that we talked about where I wasn't accusing you of being there, and if you were there, you shouldn't be?"

Allison nods giving him a smile, he chuckles, "Thanks for not listening."

He notices her studying his eyes carefully, Scott gives her a serious look, "What?"

"I was just looking at your eyes."

 

* * *

 

Unknowing to them Derek did survive the fall, he was currently lying on the pavement outside the school, a terrified Jennifer Blake leaning over him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer - I do not own Teen Wolf or anything related to it. I only own my original character Tahlia and her family, and anything else that seems out of place.

 

* * *

 

 The bus pulls up outside of the Glen Capri motel, the students file off the bus gazing up at the dilapidated building.

Scott steps out next to Stiles, he looks 100 times better, and can walk on his own. "I've seen worse."

"Where have you seen worse?" Stiles asks eyeing his friend.

A whistle blows, Coach and Tahlia step front and center before the students. "Listen up. The meet's been pushed till tomorrow. This is the closest motel with the most vacancies and least amount of good judgment when it comes to accepting a bunch of degenerates like yourselves. You'll be paring up, choose wisely."

The students move forward taking a key from Coach and finding someone to pair with as they head to their rooms. "And I'll have no sexual perversions perpetrated by you little deviants. Got that? Keep your dirty little hands to your dirty little selves!"

Tahlia and Allison notice Lydia hasn't moved, she's staring at the motel. Allison turns back to her, "Lydia?"

"I don't like this place."

"I don't think the people who own this place like this place. It's just for a night."

"A lot can happen in one night."

 

* * *

 

Tahlia is standing outside trying to get ahold of Peter to see if he's found anything out about Derek, Lydia steps out of hers and Allison's room with an armful of towels.

"Yours smell like smoke too?"

Lydia smiles, "Yeah. Gonna go get some new ones."

"I'll come with you." She shakes her cell phone before placing it in her pocket. "Maybe their phone actually works."

As they walk into the office the old lady at the counter has her back to them. Lydia sets the towels on the counter. "Excuse me? Uh, the card on the dresser says we have a non-smoking room, but…" She inhales sharply. "Somehow all of our towels reek of nicotine."

She turns around and the girls see that she has a pipe inserted into her trachea, they glace at one another, that explains the smoke smell everywhere.

"Sorry bout that sweetheart."

Lydia's eyes find a number above the woman's head, "What's that? That number?" She now has Tahlia's attention too as the huntress glances at the number on the wall.

"It's a kinda inside thing for the motel. My husband insists on keeping it up."

"What do you mean?"

"It's a little morbid to be honest. You sure you want to know?"

"Tell me."

"We're not gonna make the top of anyone's list when it comes to customer satisfaction."

"Obviously," Tahlia sneers with a tight lipped smile.

"But we are number one in California when it comes to one disturbing little detail. Since opening, more than any other motel in California, we have the most guest suicides."

The two women look back up to the number hanging on the wall. Lydia is staggered, "198?"

"And counting." She has the audacity to laugh as the two girls head back to the room intending to let Allison know.

 

* * *

 

"198?" Allison asks as she towels off her hair.

"And we're talking 40 years. On average that's 4.95 a year, which is… which is actually expected. But who commemorates that with a framed number? Who does that? Who?"

"All suicides?"

"Yes. Hanging, throat-cutting, pill popping, both-barrels-of-a-shotgun-in-the-mouth-suicides. I don't know about you two, but me, I…" She pauses a moment. "Did you hear that?"

Allison and Tahlia exchanges glances, "Hear what?"

Lydia stands up on the bed, she walks over staring into the vent on the wall. "Oh, my God. Oh, my God."

"Lydia?" The two have now stood up standing together watching their friend. She stumbles backwards, Allison catching her. "What is it Lydia, what happened?"

"Didn't you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Tahlia asks straining her hearing for any indication of what Lydia heard.

"The two people in the other room, they shot each other." She takes off out of the room, Allison and Tahlia following down the walk to the next room. Lydia opens the door, "Hello?" She flicks the light switch but nothing happens. She walks into the room feeling her way around.

"Lydia, what are you doing?"

"Hello?" She finds a work light and switches it on illuminating the room, revealing painting supplies and tools, the room is under construction. "It had to be right here. It was a guy and a girl, and they sounded younger, but… They were here."

"I believe you. After everything we've been through, I believe you." Allison tells her as she slowly approaches her.

"So do I." Tahlia assures her as she walks around the room looking for anything out of place.

 

* * *

 

Back in the girls room Lydia is gathering up her things. "You know, there is something seriously wrong with this place and Allison, we need to leave."

"But they were suicides, not murders, and it's not like this place is haunted, right?"

"Maybe it is. You know, I bet that couple made their suicide pact in that very room. Maybe that's why they're renovating. Maybe they're been scraping brain matter off the wood paneling."

"Maybe we should find out."

The girls take Allison's suggestion and head down to the office to speak with the lady again. A small sign hanging on the window says 'Back at 6am.'

"Well, there goes that."

"Didn't you say the sign said 198?"

They look up at the sign, it now reads 201. "It was 198. I swear to God it was 198."

"It was Lydia, I was standing right next to you, it said 198." Tahlia assures the red-head.

"Okay, what does that mean, that there's been three more suicides?"

Lydia grimaces, "Or three more are about to happen."

 

* * *

 

The girls call Stiles, after he comes over they sit and discuss the things that have been happening. Allison starts with how Scott was someone other than himself when he came into the room while she was in the shower.

"Last time I saw Scott act like that was during the full moon."

"Yeah, I know. He was definitely a little off with me, too. But actually, it was Boyd who was really off. I watched him out his fist through the vending machine."

"See, it is the motel." Lydia tells them. "Either we need to get out of here right now, or someone needs to learn how to do an exorcism ASAP before the werewolves go crazy and kill us." She opens the drawer on the night table and pulls out the red leather bound Bible.

Stiles holds up his hands, "Okay, just hold on, all right? What if it's not just the motel? The number in the office went up by three, right?"

"You mean like three sacrifices?" Tahlia says getting at what he's meaning.

"What if this time it's three werewolves?"

"Scott, Isaac and Boyd." Allison says.

"Maybe we were meant to come here."

"Exactly! So can we get the hell out of here now? Please?" Lydia yells, she has had enough of this motel.

"Wait, hang on. Let me see this." Stiles takes the Bible from her opening it up and finding several newspaper clippings inside. The girls crowd around him as Stiles reads what they say. "28-year-old man hangs himself at the infamous Glen Capri."

Lydia grabs two of the pieces. "No. Look at these two. They both mention the room 217. These are probably all the suicides that happened in this room."

"So if every room has a Bible…" Allison begins. "There could be articles in all the rooms." Lydia finishes.

Stiles sighs, "That's a beautiful thing. Most places leave a mint under the pillow. This one leaves a record of all the horrible deaths that occurred."

"What if the room next door has the one about the couple?"

Suddenly they hear a strange sound coming from the room next door to them. They race out to it, Stiles grabs the handle only to find it's locked.

"No, that was not locked before."

Allison shakes her head at Lydia. "Forget it. We need to get Scott, Isaac and Boyd out of here."

They move from the door but abruptly stop when they hear the whirring of a power saw coming from inside the room. Lydia turns back, "I'm not the only one who heard that, am I?"

Allison listens closely, "It sounds like someone turned the handsaw on."

Stiles comes rushing back to them, "Handsaw?"

Tahlia shoves the teens out of the way and kicks the door open. They rush in to find Ethan holding the handsaw before him and lowering it towards his stomach.

"Hey, no, Ethan, don't!" Stiles lunges for the wolf grabbing onto the saw, the two wrestling for it. Lydia looks down and sees the cord next to her plugged into the wall, she grabs it yanking out just as Stiles falls to the ground nearly slicing his face on the blade. The wolf then flicks out his claws and attempts to gut himself but Stiles lunges at him grabbing his arms as Tahlia gets him in a choke hold, she figures if he's unconscious he can't hurt himself. He falls forward onto the heater, his flesh singes as it hits the hot surface. He lands on the floor and looks up at them, he's fine, like he came out of a trance. "What just happened?" He takes off out of the door, the others following. "Didn't you hear what I just said. I don't know how I got there or what I was doing."

"Okay, you could be a little bit more helpful, you know?" Stiles can't believe Ethan, here they just saved his life and he's still being an ass. "We did just save your life."

"And you probably shouldn't have."

Lydia throws her hands up, "Now what?"

"I'll find Scott." Allison says taking off back upstairs.

Tahlia turns to the other two. "You guys grab Isaac and Boyd. The best thing we can do is get them out of this place." She heads back up to her room to grab her guns, at the rate their luck was going she was gonna need them. Just as she grabs them, she hears Lydia scream from outside. Someone was drowning. She runs out of her room towards Boyd and Isaac's, Stiles and Lydia following her into the room, they gasp at what they find. Boyd is in the tub, a black safe lying on top of him pinning him underwater. Stiles reaches into the water trying to grab the drain plug. "He blocked it. He blocked the drain with something. I can't get to it."

Tahlia grabs the safe trying to lift it, the muscles in her arms straining at the force.

"What do we do?" Lydia asks them.

"Here help me." Tahlia says moving over as the two bend down trying to help her lift the safe from Boyd's chest.

Lydia turns her head to Stiles, "How long can a werewolf stay underwater?"

"You think I know that?" Stiles snaps as they all strain pulling on the safe. "It's too heavy." Stiles lets go, backing up he yelps as he hits his arm on the heater in the wall.

"Wait a second, the heater. Heater." His eyes meet Tahlia's as they both realize the common denominator, Stiles fills Lydia in. "Ethan came out of it when he touched the heater."

"What?"

"It's heat, fire. Heat does it, all right? We need something…"

"He's underwater."

"Yeah, I'm aware of that."

"Wait. Both of you shut up." Tahlia tells them. "The bus, Stiles. On the bus, they'll have emergency road flares. They have their own oxidizers. They can burn underwater."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, go!"

Tahlia and Lydia try again to lift the safe, but it's no use, it's too heavy. Tahlia leans down, "Boyd! Boyd, stay with me, please."

Tahlia watches Lydia kneel down next to the bed peeking underneath it, then she quickly recoils. Tahlia is about to question her what she saw but Stiles runs back into the room with the flares in hand. He's fumbling with them trying to figure out how to light it, Lydia shows him. "The cap, it's like a match. The cap's a match."

He flicks it several times but it won't light. "Stiles!" He does it again, "Yeah, I'm trying." Finally he strikes it and the end flares up red, "Whoa!" He holds it out in front of him and hurries into the bathroom plunging the torch into the water on Boyd's arm. Seconds later the safe flies out of the tub and onto the floor as Tahlia falls backwards against the wall. Boyd sits up, yellow eyes glowing, claws and fangs extended, growling. Then as if nothing happened he goes back to normal.

Tahlia takes the other flare and lights it before she kneels down looking under the bed, Isaac's terrified face looks back at her. "Hey Isaac. Don't worry I'm here to help." She shoves the flare under the bed scalding him with it but it works as it brings him out of his daze.

 

* * *

 

Allison meets up with them outside of the room, they head down the stairs. "I can't find Scott anywhere."

"It's happening to him to isn't it?"

"It has to be."

"Didn't you say there was another flare on the bus?" Lydia asks as hit the bottom of the stairs.

"Yeah, I'll get it." Stiles says, but the four of them stop in their tracks as they find Scott standing next to the bus, lit flare in hand, his body covered in gasoline.

Allison slaps a hand over her mouth before she steps forward. "Scott."

The four of them move around to face him, "Scott." They spy the empty jug of gasoline lying on the ground beside him.

"There's no hope."

Allison smiles nervously, "What do you mean, Scott? There's always hope."

"Not for me. Not for Derek."

"Derek wasn't your fault. You know Derek wasn't your fault."

"Every time I try to fight back, it just gets worse. People keep getting hurt. People keep getting killed." Scott's voice is ragged, he's cold and shivering.

Stiles moves forward, "Scott, listen to me, okay? This isn't you, all right? This is someone in your head telling you to do this. Okay? Now…"

"What if it isn't? What if it is just me? What if doing this is actually the best thing that I could do for everyone else?"

Allison is covering her mouth, tears falling down her face. She glances over at Tahlia who has the same stricken look that she wears, her eyes shining with tears too.

"It all started that night, the night I got bitten. You remember the way it was before that? You and me." Stiles nods, Scott gives a small laugh. "We were… We were nothing. We weren't popular. We weren't good at lacrosse. We weren't important." Scott's whole body is shaking by this point, and tears were streaming down Stiles' face as well as the girls. "We were no one. Maybe I should just be no one again. No one at all."

Stiles shakes his head, stepping forward. "Scott, just listen to me, okay? You're not no one. Okay? You're someone, you're… Scott, you're my best friend. Okay, and I need you. Scott, you're my brother. All right, so…"

Stiles then steps into the pool of gasoline in front of Scott. "So if you're gonna do this, then…" He grabs the top of the flare above Scott's hand. "I think you're just gonna have to take me with you." Stiles wrenches the flare from Scott's hand, tossing it away, the two guys crying as they stand before one another.

Tahlia and Lydia both see the flare being blown by the wind back towards the pool of gasoline lighting it on fire, they scream and tackle the two boys out of the way. The five of them jumping out of the way just in time for the ball of fire to erupt under the bus, then it dies down.

 

* * *

 

The next morning Coach Finstock steps onto the bus to find Scott, Stiles, Lydia, Allison, Isaac, Boyd and Tahlia asleep in the seats. His loud voice wakes them up.

"I don't want to know. I really don't want to know. But in case you missed the announcement, the meet's cancelled, so we're heading home. Pack it in. Pack it in!"

Ethan and Danny get onto the bus first, the Alpha shocks the group as he sits down in the empty seat next to Scott.

"I don't know what happened last night, but I'm pretty sure you saved my life."

"Actually, I saved your life." Stiles admits from the seat behind them where he sits with Tahlia. "But not that it matters that much. It's just a minor detail."

"So I'm gonna give you something. We're pretty sure Derek's still alive."

Those words run through Tahlia's head like a symphony, she lets out a deep breath she didn't realize she was holding. The shock and relief is shown on Scott's face as well as he glances back to Stiles and Tahlia.

"But he killed one of ours. That means one of two things can happen. Either he joins our pack…"

"And kills his own." Scott adds.

"Or Kali goes after him, and we kill him. That's the way it works."

"You know, your little code of ethics there is sort of barbaric, just FYI." Stiles smarts off as Ethan stands up and moves to the back of the bus with Danny. He moves up to the empty spot next to Scott giving Tahlia room to stretch out.

Lydia notices something strange on Coach's white shirt, a purple stain where his whistle rubs against the shirt. He starts to say something to Ethan when Lydia shoots up from her seat. "Coach, can I see your whistle for a second?" She grabs it from around his neck not waiting for his answer.

"Hey! I'm gonna need that back. Ethan."

Lydia steps up sitting in the seat across the aisle from Stiles, Allison and Tahlia lean into the aisle from their seats to see what's happening. Lydia holds the whistle up, covering it with her other hand, she blows into it then shows them the palm of her hand covered in a purple powder. "Wolfsbane."

"So every time the Coach blew the whistle on the bus, Scott, Isaac, Boyd…"

"And Ethan." Lydia adds to Stiles' list.

"We all inhaled it." Scott says catching on.

"You were all poisoned by it." Allison says.

"So that's how the Darach got in their heads. That's how he did it." Stiles concludes before he reacts quickly grabbing the whistle from Lydia, he leans over Scott opening the window. Scott ducks as Stiles throws the whistle out of the window.

"Hey, hey, hey! Stilinski!" Coach yells as the bus pulls out of the parking lot.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer - I do not own Teen Wolf or anything related to it. I only own my original character Tahlia and her family, and anything else that seems out of place.
> 
> Tahlia is about to run head on into a lot of trouble in the next several chapters.

* * *

From the moment Tahlia and the group got back into Beacon Hills it was as if everything started to spin out of control. The following night there was a huge 10 car pile-up on the freeway, that lead to half of the victims being transported to Beacon Hills Hospital. On top of that both the ER attending and the on-call Doctor had went missing.

Chris and Tahlia happened to be at the sight where one of the doctor's body was found. What caught their attention was Deucalion and Aiden showing up at the scene, and neither of them looked like they had a clue what had happened. But they did seem worried.

 

* * *

 

The only positive thing for Tahlia was the person sitting in her living room as she came home that night. For once she didn't care that he still had her key.

"Derek."

She smiled rushing over and launching into his arms. He held her tight as she clung to him like he would disappear if she let go.

"Don't you ever leave me again." She ordered causing the wolf to chuckle.

"I promise Lia."

 

* * *

 

The next day Tahlia happens to be in her office at the school when she sees Scott rush by. Knowing he's supposed to be in class she grabs her keys and runs out the door behind him, catching him in the parking lot.

"Scott! What's wrong?"

"Deaton's in trouble."

She motions to her truck. "Get in. I'll drive."

 

* * *

 

Meanwhile at the loft, the door opens revealing Boyd and Isaac.

"Go back to school." Derek's voice his heard throughout the loft.

"Well, actually, we can't." Isaac says back. "Boyd and I are incredibly and unbelievably sick."

"With what, brain damage?" Derek says from his sitting place half way up the staircase.

Isaac laughs, "Well, I have a migraine, and, uh, Boyd here has explosive diarrhea."

"Tahlia sent us here to protect you." Boyd says.

Derek stands up walking down the stairs, "You're here to protect me? Well, I'm in trouble then."

"Actually, Boyd here came up with a plan."

"Yeah, I talked to Tahlia and she reminded me of the time Gerard had me and Erica locked up." He bent down setting his bag on the floor, opening it up. "Tied up with electrical wires pushing current through us. I was wondering how we could do something like that…"

He pulls a giant coil of wire out of the bag, "But on a bigger scale."

The three of them take Derek's belongings and move them behind the steel doors leaving the floor completely bare. Boyd grabs a hose and turns on the water, covering the floor, "In a pool of electrified water, it can take up to 50 milliamps to kill a normal human, less than the power it takes to turn on a light bulb."

"That's comforting," Derek says looking between the two Betas.

"If we disable the circuit interrupter in the building's electrical room, the current will keep coming, and anyone who steps foot in here, they'll get a pretty shocking surprise."

"Especially someone who's barefoot." Isaac says smirking.

 

* * *

 

Scott and Tahlia rush into the Vet's office to find the Sheriff and his Deputy standing inside, the two look up as they enter.

"How did you know?"

"Stiles called me right after you left school. Tahlia." He nods to the woman. Long ago he realized that she was way too old for his son, so they had to come clean and tell him the truth.

"Sheriff. I brought Scott here, I figured he would be better skipping school if a teacher accompanied him. Plus I called Melissa and she said it was fine."

He nods his attention turning to Scott. "I'm sorry. Your boss's car is still here, the back door was wide open."

Scott sits down on the chair behind him breathing heavily. They were too late.

"Scott. I need you to tell me everything."

So the two prepare to tell Stilinski everything they can without giving away too much. By the time they are done Stiles has shown up. He stands against the wall beside Scott.

"Okay, Scott. We're gonna do everything that we can. Right now the best thing you can do is go back to school. Tahlia will you take them?"

"Absolutely Sheriff."

Scott motions to the Cat kennels and the two follow him inside. There he turns to them. "We have to tell him."

Tahlia gets what he's saying right away but Stiles gives him a confused stare. "You mean, "tell him", tell him? Or tell him something else that isn't telling him what I think you want to tell him."

"You know what I mean."

"You remember how your mom reacted? She didn't look you in the eye, for, like, a week."

"And she got over it. And it actually made us closer."

"I don't know, dude, look at him. Come on, he's completely overwhelmed as it is."

"He's overwhelmed because he has no clue what's happening Stiles." Tahlia reminds him. "He's got people dying in his town, the town that he's supposed to protect."

"And it's not his fault that he doesn't know what's happening." Scott adds. "He's gonna find out sooner or later."

"Okay, but is now really the right time?"

"What if not telling him now gets someone else killed?"

"What if telling him gets him killed, huh?" Stiles says his voice thick with emotion. "I mean, okay, look, I get that Deaton's been like a father to you. I get that, okay? But this isn't… Scott, this is my actual father. I can't…" He drops his head to the ground in frustration. "I can't lose both of my parents, all right? Not both of them.

"You're right."

Stiles looks out the door at his dad, he sighs. "No I'm not. I'm not right. I'll tell him."

"I'll help you." Scott states.

"Me too." Tahlia adds with a smile.

The three of them step out prepared to tell Stilinski everything, but they pause finding Ms. Morell standing in the office with the officers.

"Please, whatever you need, however you can help find my brother."

The three stare at one another as the Sheriff and Deputy step outside. Once out the door Morell quickly crosses the room to the three. "Listen closely, all of you. No Sheriff, Deputy or Detective is going to be able to find him."

"You don't have to ask us for help." Scott says.

"Actually, I'm trying to help you. Because if you're going to find my brother, then you need to use the one person who might actually have an ability to seek out the supernatural."

Stiles realizes who she is speaking about. "Lydia."

 

* * *

 

The three of them head back to the school to find the red-head. Stiles separates from the two as they arrive and shortly after sends Scott a text saying he found her.

But before they could go meet up with the two Scott paused, tilting his head. Tahlia figured out he could hear something she couldn't so she followed him through the halls. They enter the music classroom to find Deucalion sitting at the piano, tapping his walking stick against the piano top.

"Ah, I see we have company, beautiful company at that. And who might you be?"

"Tahlia Argent."

"Gerard's granddaughter." He growls. "Interesting."

"I'm nothing to that psychopath, except someone who wants to cut him in two."

Deucalion nods very much liking her answer. "Do you know what a metronome is, Scott? It's a tool to help you maintain a steady rhythm once you've set the tempo. Something tells me the tempo of your life has sped up considerably in the last few hours. If you'd like, I could help slow it down to a more manageable pace."

Scott moves forward eagerly, "How?"

"By helping you find Deaton."

Deucalion stands up, "Your heart's are pounding, but it's not fear. It's anger. I bet I know what you're thinking. Does he have something to do with Deaton's disappearance?" He picks up his cane holding it in front of him sideways. "Tell you what. If you can take the cane away from me, I'll tell you exactly where he is."

"Scott, don't." Tahlia warns.

"Now what do you think?"

In a split second Scott charges Deucalion, he rolls out of the way as the Alpha swipes a claw at his back. Deucalion whips the cane around smacking Scott knocking him onto his back. Scott flips himself back to his feet as the Alpha swings the cane at him again. He swings at Deucalion missing, the Alpha shoves him away. Scott jumps up on the desk then backflips off as Deucalion swings the cane at him. He lands on the floor and backflips away from the Alpha who advances on him. Scott jumps up crouching on another desk. He watches as Deucalion uncaps the end of the cane revealing the razor sharp blade.

"Scott!" Tahlia moves to grab her gun from her waistband but Scott holds up a hand. "No, don't." Against her better judgment she backs down.

Scott flips sideways off of the desk only to be stabbed by the blade as Deucalion parries forward. Scott drops to his knee as Deucalion pulls the cane out and circles him.

"Impressive. But you know I'm not the one slashing up innocent people, praying to ancient gods, gathering herbs, or whatever the hell druids are supposed to do. I am part of a pack that wants Derek dead, though."

This draws both Scott and Tahlia's attention.

"Kali is coming for him. So, there's a difficult choice you're about to face, because someone is going to die tonight. And whether that's Derek or Deaton, that's up to you."

"Just tell me where he is."

Deucalion shakes his head. "I'll give you a very important clue. Let the current guide you."

 

* * *

 

Tahlia moves over to Scott as Deucalion leaves, she helps him up and they make their way to the classroom where Stiles sits with Lydia and Cora. Stepping through the door they hear Lydia tell Stiles that he should be talking to Danny.

"Why?" Stiles asks completely confused.

"Because last night, he was a target." Scott says garnering their attention. "But he wasn't a sacrifice."

The four of them gather their things as the bell rings and head out into the crowded hallway.

"But isn't Danny still in the hospital?" Cora questions as they navigate through the students.

"Yeah. That's where we're going right now." Stiles answers her.

"I'll meet you there." Scott tells them earning a questioning glance from Stiles. "Why?"

He shows them a text on his phone that says, 'I think I found something.'

 

* * *

 

While Scott heads to Allison's apartment to see what she has found out, Stiles goes to the hospital to speak to Danny. He calls Scott afterwards and the two explain their findings. Scott figures out where Deaton is being held.

 

* * *

 

Again at the loft the two Beta's and Alpha stand on the upper floor, behind the broken wall. Derek watches as Boyd drops the wire in the water. The waters crackle as it is electrified by the current pulsing through it.

"Is this gonna kill him?" Isaac asks looking down at the water.

"I hope so."

Boyd and Isaac sit on two of the small platforms behind the broken wall, watching the alarm light waiting for it to go off signaling the arrival of the Alphas, Derek stands behind Isaac.

"Isn't the light on that supposed to be on?" Isaac asks.

Derek scowls, "Yeah."

"What does it mean if it's not?"

"Someone cut the auxiliary power," Derek says.

"What about the main—" Boyd says as the entire room goes black, both Beta's shoot quickly to their feet.

Derek slowly steps down into the water walking out into the main room. He stops, turning and facing the door.

"Derek…" Isaac calls to him. "What do we do now?" Isaac asks him.

Derek looks up at the door, his eyes turning red. "We fight."

Pounding resounds on the outside of the door as the lock is ripped off. Derek's anger radiating through the room as Isaac and Boyd come to stand beside their stands now fully shifted, facing the angry she-wolf.

Kali stands in the open doorway her claws flicking out, "Gonna be honest, Derek. When Ennis died, I thought to myself I'd just go for it. Find you and kill you, wherever you stood."

"Then I remembered how you surround yourself with these teenagers, hiding behind them, and I thought, "What's a girl got to do to get you alone?"

Kali looks back to the doorway, Ethan and Aiden appear— holding Jennifer between them. Aiden holding her left arm in his grip, Ethan's claws on her throat prepared to rip it out. The teachers eyes wide as she sees what Derek truly looks like.

"You and me Derek, or they tear her apart. What do you say? You think you can beat me one-on-one?"

Derek nods his head to Boyd and Isaac who move off to the side. "I'm gonna rip your throat out, with my teeth."

The two Alpha's growl, Derek leaps from the ground, coming down in front of Kali slashing at her chest.

 

* * *

 

Inside the Vet's office the four teens stand around an exam table with Tahlia looking through Danny's homework.

"Okay, so what does this kid's homework have to do with finding Deaton?" Cora asks.

"Because it's not just homework, okay?" Stiles answers her. "It's a project on geomagnetic fields. They flow through the earth. They can even be affected by lunar phases, all right? Now, look at this. This is a note from Harris on Danny's proposal."

"I strongly advice you to choose another subject." Lydia reads off the paper. "The ideas here, while innovative and thoughtful, border on pseudo-science. Not suitable for class."

"Harris wasn't just a sacrifice. He knew something." Tahlia concludes.

Stiles nods to her, setting a paper down on the table. "Now, check this out. Your Uncle wasn't the only one with a map, all right? Danny had one too." He lays it out and starts pointing to sets of red and blue lines Danny had drawn. "Danny marked all the telluric currents, okay? Now, the weird thing about Beacon Hills is that it actually is a beacon. You wouldn't believe how much energy flowing through this earth is around this town."

Tahlia sees Scott moving the pictures of her Uncle's map around on Danny's map. "What is it, Scott?"

"Look, they match." Scott pulls a marker out of his pocket, "All right, there's three places, right?" He circles the Vet's office. "Where they're kidnapped… and then the place where their body was found." He circles another spot.

"Look, that's right on a telluric current." Lydia points out.

"So, maybe where he was sacrificed is somewhere in between."

"Let me see that." Stiles takes the pen from Scott and circles more places. "You said there's six more bodies to be found. Deaton's one of them. Got to be somewhere in between, right?"

"Stop." Cora says grabbing Stiles' hand. She guides it over to a spot on the map. "He's in the vault. He's in the same vault."

They gather their things and rush for the door but Lydia stops them. "Guys, hold on."

"Lydia, we don't have time."

Cora looks up from her phone, her eyes meet Tahlia's. "It's Boyd. The plan didn't work. They cut the power."

Tahlia's breathing quickens as her head drops, "Derek."

"It's just like he said." Scott says referring to their conversation with Deucalion. "You guys go. Go. I can save Deaton myself."

"What, Scott, what about us?" Stiles asks.

"Cora and Tahlia can't get there fast enough without you. Go. We can save both of them." Scott runs out getting onto his dirt bike, while the others pile into Stiles' Jeep.

 

* * *

 

At that moment inside the loft the fight rages on. Derek slashes for Kali's torso and misses, she turns slashing for him, missing as well, the two trade places trading swipes.

Jennifer cries dropping her head but the twins force her to watch. Kali slashes Derek on the chest.

"Derek!" Jennifer screams hearing him yell.

Kali jumps up shoving herself off the wall and kicking Derek in the face.

 

* * *

 

Inside the Jeep the mood is solemn. Cora takes Tahlia's hand in hers holding it tight as they look at one another, fearful of what they will find when they reach the loft. The four look around sharing glances before Stiles shifts gears and stomps on the gas propelling them faster down the road.

 

* * *

 

Kali knocks Derek down, he lands face first in the water. He pushed himself back up to his hands and knees, growling.

 

* * *

 

Inside the vault Scott runs in to find Deaton suspended from his wrists, he appears lifeless. Scott rushes towards him but hits an invisible barrier and is thrown backwards. He sits up panting seeing the circle of mountain ash surrounding Deaton. He scrambles to his feet, he knows the Alpha's would not have done this, they not being able to touch the ash. So the question begs… who did?

 

* * *

 

Derek gets to his feet, water dripping off of him, he turns to Kali growling loudly. Kali jumps down off the desk, landing she kicks Derek in the side, sending him flipping into the air, he lands in a crouch facing her.

"Derek!" Jennifer screams. Isaac moves towards her but Derek's voice stops him. "No!"

"Wait!" Isaac yells holding Boyd back.

 

* * *

 

Back in the vault Deaton opens his eyes to find Scott stepping up to the boundary. He places his hands out, the blue light shining bright as Scott pushes himself into the barrier. Scott grunts loudly as he forces himself further against the barrier.

 

* * *

 

Derek and Kali trade blows back and forth, grunting and snarling, until she backflips kicking Derek and knocking him onto his back.

 

* * *

 

Scott forces himself further against the barrier, screaming as he looks up at Deaton. His eyes glow bright Beta yellow as he steps forward straining against the force field. And then something unbelievable happens… Scott's eyes turn fire red. The red of an Alpha.

Scott is abruptly thrown to the ground, he rolls onto his side coughing.

"Scott! Let me give it a shot." He looks behind him to find the Sheriff standing in the vault doorway. He pulls out his pistol and aims for the rope. BANG! The rope snaps and Deaton's limp body falls to the ground.

 

* * *

 

Tahlia and the three teens have made it to the loft, they burst into the lower electrical room. Stiles opens the box containing all of the switches. "So, now what?"

"We pull them. We pull all of them." Cora states.

Kali picks Derek up, twisting his arms behind his back.

Isaac gets a text from Stiles on his phone, 'Now!'

He runs out from behind the wall towards Jennifer. The twins let go of her as the water suddenly electrifies. He holds her watching as Kali, Derek and Boyd who ran out to help his Alpha, are caught in the current.

Kali stands up yelling to the twins. "Take him!" Kali yells.

The twins rush forward grabbing Derek by the arms, forcing his hands up. Derek struggles against them but he is weak from the shock his body took. They force his hands up, his claws glinting in the moonlight. Kali takes hold of Boyd, lifting him into the air, she drops him down, impaling him on Derek's claws.

Boyd groans as Derek's claws penetrate the flesh of his stomach. As the twins let go of Derek's arms, Boyd sinks to the ground.

The twins and Kali walk to the door, "I'm giving you till the next full moon, Derek. Make the smart choice. Join the pack… Or next time I'm killing all of you."

The three Alphas walk out, while Jennifer and Isaac watch helplessly from the door. Derek gasps, shaking his head, panting as he tries to stop the blood flow while holding Boyd up.

"It's okay," Boyd whispers, his eyes heavy.

"No, no. No, it's not. It's not." Derek says his voice panicky.

"It's all okay, Derek."

Derek looks into Boyd's eyes, his voice stuttering, "I'm— I'm sorry."

"The full moon. That feeling… That was worth it."

Derek is helpless as the blood rushes between his fingers from Boyd's chest.

"Did you know it was a lunar eclipse. I always wondered what… What that felt like for one of us. For a werewolf."

_Boyd thinks back to the vault, with Erica as she asked him, "Boyd, what do you think will happen to us on the Lunar Eclipse? They last for hours, you know, because it's just the Earth's shadow. I wonder what will happen to us. Maybe it'll make us stronger. I hope it'll make us stronger." Erica says to Kali as she rises, her yellow eyes gleaming. She rushes Kali…_

Boyd falls from Derek's claws, the Alpha stares at his hands not knowing what to do.

_As she lies on the ground dying, Erica reaches out for him, "Boyd."_

Stiles, Tahlia and Cora rush through the doorway seeing Jennifer and Isaac on the ground. Cora and Tahlia push past the boy running towards Boyd and Derek. Cora kneels next to Boyd cradling his head as the Alpha sits down his head in his hands.

Lydia rushes through the doorway, taking in the scene before her, Isaac and Jennifer sitting prone beside her.

Cora sobs, lying her head on Boyd's chest. Tahlia kneels down next to Derek, taking hold of his shaking hands as Stiles lays a hand on Derek's shoulder. Derek's hands shake violently as Tahlia holds them, his lip quivers, tears building in his eyes.

 

* * *

 

Meanwhile unbeknownst to any of them, Chris Argent stands in a hotel outside of town. "If you know something about him and you're reluctant to tell me, try remembering it's a long list of favors and penance before you're redeemed in my eyes."

Before him in a wheelchair sits Gerard. He lifts a cloth to his face, wiping the black blood from his lips.

"You're gonna tell me the story and you're gonna tell me the truth." Chris walks out the door slamming shut behind him.

Seconds later the door opens again, Allison stands in the doorway. "Surprised to see me?"

"Only surprised that it's taken you this long."

 

* * *

 

Inside the vault Deaton sits propped up against the bars, Scott and the Sheriff sitting before him smiling.

"How'd you find us?" Scott asks the Sheriff.

"The vials in the clinic, with the Celtic symbols on 'em. I knew that one of 'em looked familiar." He points to the symbol on the vault floor.

Deaton sighs, "Sheriff, thank you for being one hell of a detective."

Stilinski pats him on the leg. "You bet. Let's get you an ambulance." He gets up pulling out his phone.

Deaton grabs Scott's shoulder, "Your eyes, were red. Bright red."

"How is that possible?"

"Paramedics are on their way. Be back in half a minute." Stilinski says heading outside.

"It's rare. It's something that doesn't happen within 100 years, but every once in a while, a Beta can become an Alpha without having to steal or take that power. They call it a True Alpha. It's one who rises purely on the strength of character, by virtue, by sheer force of will."

"You knew this would happen."

"I believed. From the moment I knew you were bitten, I believed."

Scott pauses thinking for a moment. "You're not the only one."

"No. Deucalion isn't after Derek. He's after you."


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer - I do not own Teen Wolf or anything related to it. I only own my original character Tahlia and her family, and anything else that seems out of place.

* * *

 

_A young Derek runs through the woods, behind him he can hear the hunters closing in on him. Suddenly Derek trips falling down a small embankment, landing on his stomach at the bottom. A piercing sound meets his ears, he looks up to find a stake with a pulsing blue light, emitting a sound that hurts his highly sensitive ears._

_He stands up trying to out run the sounds, but to avail, as everywhere he turns he finds another stake. He sees the hunters coming to his right, he takes off towards the left desperate to get ahead of them. Suddenly another boy runs straight into Derek, the two pause staring at one another._

_"_ _You're a Hale, aren't you?" The boy says looking at Derek carefully._

_All at once there is a singing sound, then an arrow pierces the boys neck in front of Derek. He falls forward, Derek is met with the sight of a very large hunter with a crossbow pointed right at him._

_The hunter fires— out of nowhere Peter appears catching the arrow just in front of Derek's face. Breathing heavily, he lowers the arrow then grabs Derek and ushers him away as the hunters advance on the body._

_"_ _Is this the one?" The leader Gerard asks._

 _"_ _Killed two of ours. Find the others. Bring them back alive." Chris Argent says before he turns to each of the other hunters, "Alive. We go by the code."_

_In a small cellar at the base of a once great tree, roots penetrating into the ground below. Peter and Derek sit huddled in a corner together. They hear the hunters above them, their flashlight beams sweeping the forest._

 

* * *

 

"They were there for two days, waiting, hiding. That's what were taught to do when the hunters find us— Hide and heal." Cora explains to Stiles and Tahlia.

"Okay, so is two days standard, then? Or we thinking Derek's on, like, some extended getaway?"

"Why do you care?" Cora asks turning from the window to face him.

"Why do I care? Let's see— Because over the last few weeks, my best friend's tried to kill himself. His boss nearly got ritually sacrificed. A girl that I've known since I was three was ritually sacrificed. Boyd was killed by Alpha's. I— You want me to keep going? Cause I can, all right? For, like, an hour."

"You think Derek can do anything about that?" She asks approaching him.

"Well, since he's the one everyone seems to be after, it's more like he should do something about it, yeah."

"I don't know. There's something different about him now. He wasn't like this when I knew him."

"What was he like?"

Peter walks down the staircase, pausing in the middle, "A lot like Scott, actually. A lot like most teenagers— unbearably romantic, profoundly narcissistic… tolerable really only to other teenagers."

"So what happened? What changed him?" Stiles asks as Peter approaches the desk standing beside Tahlia.

"Well, the same thing that changes a lot of young men… A girl."

"You're telling me some girl broke his little heart? That's why Derek is the way he is?"

Peter turns to Cora. "Do you remember Derek before he was an Alpha had blue eyes? Do you know why some wolves have blue eyes?"

Stiles shakes his head, "I just always thought it was, like, a genetic thing."

"If you want to know what changed Derek, you need to know what changed the color of his eyes."

 

* * *

 

Back inside the motel, Gerard sits in his wheelchair, wiping the black blood from his nose and mouth. The door opens revealing Allison, Gerard looks up not turning around. "Did you bring him?"

He hears footsteps and turns the chair around. "Oh. Oh, come in, Scott." Gerard rolls up his sleeve, holding up his arm, "And give an old man a little something for his pain."

"You don't have to do this." Allison tells Scott.

"If you want me to talk, this is how it's going to happen." Gerard says.

Scott walks over pulling up his right jacket sleeve, "If I do this, you have to tell us everything you know. Everything."

The two grasp hands, Gerard inhales sharply, groaning. The pain travels in black waves up Scott's arm into his neck, causing his eyes to glow yellow.

 

* * *

 

_A beautiful brunette sits in the music room of Beacon Hills High School. She is playing the cello, a metronome keeping time for her. However every time she begins playing, a loud bouncing and indistinct shouting, keeps interrupting her. Finally after several minutes she's had enough, she sets her bow down and heads outside the room._

_Outside in the hallway six boys are playing basketball in the hallway._

_"_ _Uh-oh. Uh-oh. What are you gonna do?" A boy asks another dark haired boy in front of him as he dribbles the ball._

 _"_ _Hey, do you guys mind?"_

_The six teens turn finding a girl standing in the hallway, the leader, the same black haired boy turns around to look at the girl._

_"_ _I'm trying to practice." She tells them, a scowl on her face._

 _"_ _How do you know we're not trying to practice here too?" The leader asks her, the ball in his hands._

 _"_ _Yeah, well, see, I was practicing in the music room, and I'm pretty sure basketball practice takes place in the gym."_

 _"_ _Well, I'm pretty sure basketball practice takes place anywhere you got a basketball."_

_The guys laugh, as the boy approaches the irritated girl, bouncing the basketball, showing off his moves._

_She rolls her eyes as he approaches her, cockily telling her, "See?"_

_She turns to head back to the room, he stops her, "Wait. Hold on. Hold on. If you can get the ball from me… Maybe I'll stop."_

_The girl turns back to face him, "Come on. It'll be easy." He tells her bouncing the ball slowly in front of him._

_She tries to grab it, but he's much faster. She watches as he dribbles the ball between his legs quickly, she sighs knowing she can't get it form him, so she just walks away._

_The boy stops, watching her leave. He turns to find the guys have left as well._

_The boy walks into the music room, he stand watching the girl play for a moment. "Sorry about that."_

_She pauses, looking over to find him standing in the doorway. "Whatever." She turns back to her playing._

_"_ _Hey, what's your name?" He asks coming into the room._

 _"_ _I'm trying to practice, if you didn't notice."_

_He sets the ball down, "Okay. I'll just leave you alone, then…" She sighs thinking he's actually going to leave, but then— "After you tell me your name?"_

_"_ _All right, I'll tell you my name if you can play one instrument in this room."_

 _"_ _One?"_

 _"_ _Just one."_

 _"_ _Any of 'em?"_

_She smirks turning back to her music, thinking she had beat the boy. He looks over the instruments on the shelves, finally selecting one. He hold sit behind his back as he walks back over next to her. He pulls a triangle out from behind his back, smirking as he chimes it._

_The girls mouth drops open, she grins turning her face away from him. "My name's Paige. Now please go, so I can practice."_

_"_ _My name's—"_

 _"_ _I know who you are."_

_The boy smirks as he puts the triangle back and walks back outside._

 

* * *

 

Back at the hotel Gerard asks the two teens, "They found a third body?"

"Another doctor, right after Scott found Deaton." Allison tells him.

"Right after? Almost like it was expected he'd survive."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Scott asks the man.

"How do you know your dark druid isn't your wise Veterinarian himself? Maybe he knew you'd find him. Maybe he planned it that way."

"He would never let anyone innocent die." Scott says.

"Don't be so sure. You'd be surprised how far some people would go to get rid of someone like Deucalion."

"Or someone like you?" Allison quips.

Gerard chuckles, "I don't go easily, though, do I? You know, Scott, you've made me something of a celebrity here. I'm a medical mystery. The cancer is now virtually undetectable, but the doctors have no clue why my body keeps producing and ejecting this bizarre black fluid."

"I did what you wanted me to do. Tell us how to beat him."

Gerard scoffs, "You can't. I've tried."

"Then this is a complete waste of time. He doesn't know anything. Sorry you did this. Let's go." Allison says walking towards the door.

"Wait. I can tell you one thing. Deucalion may have lost his eyes, but he's not always blind."

 

* * *

 

Back at the loft, Peter is sitting on the couch in the far corner beside Tahlia, while Cora and Stiles sit at the table before them.

"Okay, so if Derek was a sophomore back then, how old was he? How old were you?" Stiles asks looking at Peter. "How old are you now?"

"Not as young as we could have been, but not as old as you might think."

"Okay, that was frustratingly vague." Stiles says looking to Cora, "How old are you?"

"I'm 17."

"See, that's an answer. That's how we answer people."

"I'm 17 in how you'd measure in years."

"All right, I'm just gonna drop it. What happened to Derek and the cello girl?"

"What do you think happened? They were teenagers. One minute, it's, "I hate you, don't talk to me." The next it's frantic groping in any dark corner they could manage to find themselves alone in for five minutes. Their favorite dark corner was an abandoned distillery outside of Beacon Hills."

"All right, hold up." Stiles says. "How do you know all this? You just said that they were alone."

"Back then, I wasn't just Derek's Uncle. I was his best friend, his closest confidante. That's how I know."

 

* * *

 

_The two teens stand in the distillery kissing, all at one Paige pulls away. "What?" Derek asks her concerned._

_"_ _Why do you like me?"_

 _"_ _What's that supposed to mean?"_

 _"_ _Why do you like me?"_

 _"_ _Why do you think I like you?"_

 _"_ _Honestly, I think, at first, you liked me because I didn't like you."_

 _"_ _So now you're worried that now that I know you like me that I'm gonna stop liking you?"_

 _"_ _Not worried. Just wondering when."_

 _"_ _What if I never stop liking you?"_

_The two smile at one another, Derek pulls her close. Suddenly he hears a soft banging in the distance, he turns his head._

_"_ _What?" Paige asks him. "Did you hear something?" Derek looks up at the ceiling, at a chain on a pulley. "What's wrong?" She asks._

 _"_ _Something happened here."_

 _"_ _What do you mean?"_

 _"_ _I caught a scent. It's blood." He hears the soft banging again, he whips around. "All right, now I definitely heard something."_

 _"_ _Derek, I don't hear anything."_

 _"_ _We have to go. Come on. Let's go."_

_The two run out the back of the distillery, as 3 packs of werewolves enter through the front. Peter who was outside spying on the two lovers, moves to another spot where he will not be seen._

_"_ _There." The tallest one, Ennis says, referring to the chain and rope on the pulley. "You see it? They dragged him here, an arrow in his throat, and they hung him and cut him in half. They killed one of ours."_

 _"_ _One of yours." The female Kali says stepping forward. "Why should I care about one of your pack?"_

_A small blonde from Ennis' pack steps forward, "Cause the hunters don't discern packs, especially the Argents."_

_"_ _But they do discern motive. Ennis, why did they kill him?" Deucalion asks._

_One of Deucalion's Betas steps forward, "Because your young, naïve Beta killed one of them."_

_"_ _Marco." Deucalion warns._

_Marco continues, "He killed a hunter, didn't he?"_

_Ennis steps up staring down the Beta, "Accidentally."_

 

* * *

 

Back at the hotel Gerard is explaining his side of the story, "They were all there— Ennis, Kali, Deucalion— Each with their own packs, before they'd killed them all and decided to form their little all-star team."

"But they didn't all live here, did they?" Allison asks.

"No, but there was an exceptionally powerful Alpha who did live here. She had a capacity to shape-shift that was rare among her kind. That made her something of a leader, the kind of person that they would go to for advice and guidance…"

 

* * *

 

_A distant howling is heard, the packs turn and stare out of the open door. A pure black wolf pads out of the woods and into the distillery, stopping just inside the doors, its red eyes glowing. The packs watch as the wolf manifests into a beautiful woman. As she stands one of the girls brings her a robe, wrapping her in it._

"Talia Hale," Gerard says.

_Talia stands eyeing the werewolves as she tries to calm the packs down. "It's his right. And we're not the only people to adhere to rituals thousands of years old."_

_"_ _Which is no excuse for not evolving." Deucalion adds._

 _"_ _They ripped his claws right out of his fingers. How is that evolving? Useless debate. I'm done with it." Ennis says walking over to the thin metal wall next to the door, his claws out he sets them on the metal._

 _"_ _Ennis, don't." Deucalion warns. "Don't make us part of a historical cliché. With two such powers, it never ends at an eye for an eye. A skirmish becomes a war. Murder becomes a massacre. And we end up no better than our enemies."_

_Ennis doesn't listen as he tears into the wall with his claws, sparks flying. When he's finished a spiral is cut into the wall._

 

* * *

 

Peter draws a spiral on the inside of the window, in the condensation. "Our mark for vendetta."

"Man, you guys really take that revenge thing to, like, a whole new level, don't you?" Stiles quips.

"It's not just revenge." Cora says. "Losing a member of your pack isn't like losing family. It's like you lose a limb."

"They wouldn't even let him see the body."

 

* * *

 

_Stiles' father rushes into the hospital, "Somebody call for a—" He sees a giant man holding the nurse by the front of his shirt. "Whoa."_

_"_ _I want his body. It belongs to me— Both halves."_

_Stiles' dad reaches for his gun, "First off… You need to step back. I'm just a Deputy. I do what I'm told. And right now they're telling me there's a young man who was shot in the throat with an arrow and literally cut in half. This is a homicide investigation. Second, no matter how close you were… You're not related."_

_"_ _He was family to me." Ennis says._

 

* * *

 

"I don't get it. What does this have to do with Derek?" Cora asks Peter.

"Everything. It's never just a single moment. It's a confluence of events. Personally, I looked at Ennis' circumstances, I saw profound loss. Derek saw something different. He saw opportunity."

"Opportunity? To do what?" Stiles asks.

"To always be with her."

 

* * *

 

_Derek is in class, he smiles when he realizes he can hear Paige playing cello. Paige is sitting in the music room, she smiles as she feels eyes on her. "What are you staring at?"_

_"_ _I'm not staring. I'm listening." Derek tells her. "Am I distracting you?"_

 _"_ _No. I've got laser-like focus."_

 _"_ _You sure about that?" Derek asks setting his bag down and approaching her._

_Paige begins playing again as Derek stands behind her, running his fingers down her arm, pulling the hair back off her left ear and gently running his lips along her earlobe._

_Paige realizes she has lost concentration, she smiles at Derek, "I hate you."_

_"_ _No, you don't. You love me." He says sitting down next to her._

 _"_ _Hate you."_

_Derek face becomes very serious, "You love me?"_

_Paige nods her head, Derek leans in to kiss her._

 

* * *

 

"The thing was, he had this constant fear. He was obsessing over it, thinking about it all night, all day, always on his mind."

_Derek sits at a picnic table outside the school, he's watching Paige, who is at the table a few feet from their own. Peter happens upon him and down across from Derek._

_"_ _Why does she eat alone?" Peter asks._

 _"_ _What are you doing here?"_

 _"_ _I'm looking out for my favorite Nephew, making sure no one has a crossbow aimed at your throat."_

 _"_ _I could get you banned from school grounds. You know that, right?"_

 _"_ _No one would ban me from anywhere. I'm too good-looking. Doesn't she have any friends?"_

 _"_ _A few, but she likes to study during lunch. I kind of just don't think she likes my friends."_

 _"_ _No one should like your friends. They're a bunch of hormonal half-wits. But that one over there— She's perfect for you." Peter steals Derek's Reese's cups, "And perfect combinations are rare in an imperfect world."_

_Derek sighs standing up from the table. "It would worry me too, though. I'd probably be thinking about it all the time." Peter tells him._

_"_ _Thinking about what?"_

 _"_ _Her finding out. You've thought that through, right? You know it always happens. One minute, you're in this blissful teen romance, and next, she sees fangs, glowing eyes, claws."_

 _"_ _She doesn't have to find out."_

 _"_ _But they always do… Especially when they're perfect for you. There's really only one way to make sure you'll always be together." The two of them look over at Paige as she glances their way, Peter solidifying his thoughts, "Turn her."_

 

* * *

 

"I kept telling him not to do it. Everyday the more he thought about it, the more convinced he became. You know teenagers. I bet he even blames me. He's probably convinced himself the whole thing was my idea."

 

* * *

 

 _"_ _I have the perfect idea." Peter tells Derek in the locker room._

 _"_ _Go away."_

 _"_ _Laura told you about the packs being here, right? There are more Alphas than I've ever seen in one place. Your mother would never do it. And these packs won't be here much longer. The time to do it is now. One little bite, and she never gets sick again. She stays younger, more beautiful. Think how she'll be able to protect herself. Derek… The bite is a gift."_

 

* * *

 

_In the same cellar Derek and Peter hid from the hunters, those same hunters have found the entrance and came down inside. Gerard and Chris Argent, stand in the cellar looking around._

_"_ _What is that?" Gerard says pointing to a symbol on the roots of the tree above._

 _"_ _A Celtic five fold knot— it's a druid symbol. The air's different in here. Do you feel it? I think I know what this place is."_

 _"_ _Is that blood?" Gerard asks pointing the flashlight at the roots._

 _"_ _Sacrificial blood. We're in a Nemeton. It's a sacred meeting place. Ancient Celtic druids would usually choose a large, older tree in a grove. It would represent the center of the world. There was a belief that cutting or harming the tree in any way would cause serious problems for the surrounding villages."_

 _"_ _What sort of problems?"_

 _"_ _Fires, plagues, strife. Death and destruction of all kinds."_

 

* * *

 

"How does he know all about Celtic symbols and druids?" Allison asks.

"Know thy enemy, Allison. The older wolves had a relationship with the druids. They called them emissaries."

"Like my boss, Deaton." Scott says.

Gerard stands up out of his wheelchair walking over to a book on the desk, "Do you know the myth of Lycaon?"

"I know it's where we get the word "Lycanthropy." Scott says as he and Allison come to stand beside Gerard.

"According to myth, some Greek citizens believed they owed their lives more to Prometheus than to the Gods of Olympus. And some followers even took names to honor the Titans instead of the Gods."

"Like Deucalion," Scott says catching on.

"The Son of Prometheus." Gerard says. "Lycaon didn't just refuse to honor the Gods. He challenged them. He invited Zeus to a banquet and then tried to serve him the flesh of a human being. Angered, Zeus blew the place apart with lightning bolts and then punished Lycaon and his sons by turning them into wolves. The part that's lesser known is how Lycaon sought out the druids to help turn him back to human."

"Why druids?" Scott asks.

"The belief was that the ancient druids knew how to shape-shift. They couldn't make Lycaon and his sons human again, but they did teach them how to shift back and forth. And so the druids became important advisors to the packs."

 

* * *

 

"They keep us connected to humanity." Cora tells Stiles of the druids. "But they're a secret even in the pack. Sometimes only the Alpha knows who the emissary is. Derek and I had no idea about Deaton."

"Or his sister, Morell." Peter inputs.

"She's an emissary too?" Stiles asks.

"For the Alpha pack." Peter tells him.

"Our guidance counselor? Why the hell don't you people tell me any of this stuff, huh? I shared some really intimate details with her."

"And did she give you good advice?" Cora asks.

"Actually, yeah."

"That's what they do." Peter says. "That's what Deaton used to do for Talia."

 

* * *

 

 _"_ _While I admire your willingness to extend an olive branch, I have to tell you, it might not be welcome."_

 _"_ _And I'm not sure that Gerard is the one to accept it." Talia tells him and Deucalion._

 _"_ _It's true. The Argents have a matriarchal leadership." Deaton says._

 _"_ _Actually, I was speaking about the fact that he's a complete psychopath. I mean the man cuts people in half with a broad sword."_

 _"_ _Do the two of you really have so little faith in people?" Deucalion asks them. "You think Gerard isn't worried about the deaths on his own side?"_

 _"_ _Do you know the story of the scorpion and the frog?" Deaton asks._

 _"_ _I have a feeling I'm about to hear it." Deucalion says._

 _"_ _When the scorpion asked the frog to carry him across the river, the frog said, "How do I know you won't sting me?" The scorpion replied, "Why would I do that? Then we'd both drown." So the frog agreed. Halfway across the river, the scorpion stung the frog. When the frog asked him why he did it, since now they would both die, the scorpion replied… "It's my nature." Your faith in humanity may not matter if you underestimate Gerard's nature." Deaton says._

 _"_ _Make sure you meet him on neutral ground. And do not walk in there alone."_

 _"_ _I'm an Alpha. I never walk alone."_

 

* * *

 

_That night in the school Paige enters after receiving a note from Derek saying to meet him there. "Derek?" She hears a door open and close, "Derek, is that you?"_

_Paige has her back to the doors of the school, she turns as she hears footsteps. In front of her stands a tall man, it's Ennis, fully shifted into a werewolf. Paige turns running back down the hallway the way she came, Ennis easily catches up to her._

 

* * *

 

"Ennis? Why would you choose him?"

"Why not? Ennis needed a new member for his pack. Paige was young and strong. Doing a favor for Derek meant Ennis would be in good with Talia. Back then, everybody wanted to be in good with her."

_Derek sat in the locker room, he could hear Paige's distant cries and whimpering. He could hear Ennis snarling._

"He doesn't remember it was Ennis, does he?" Stiles asks.

"If he does, he keeps it to himself."

"So then what happened?" Stiles asks. "Did he turn her?"

"Almost."

 

* * *

 

_Derek runs into the hallway, he sees Ennis over Paige who is crawling on the floor._

_"_ _He came at Ennis. A 15-year-old boy against a giant."_

_Ennis picks Derek up by the front of his shirt throwing him against the wall. Derek lands on the floor, Ennis holds his head down, making him look at Paige._

_"_ _There was no reason for him to fight. She'd already been bitten."_

_Ennis leaves after, Peter having witnessed the whole thing._

 

* * *

 

"I wasn't really surprised when Deaton came to arrange a meeting with Deucalion. As William Blake said, "Any sinister person who means to be your enemy always start by trying to become your friend."

"How do you know he wasn't going there to make peace?" Scott asks.

"Because I'm not an idiot. Do you know thee Sanskrit fable of the scorpion and the turtle?"

"Yeah, the scorpion asks the turtle for a ride across the river."

"And when the scorpion stings the turtle, dooming them both, what does he say to explain his behavior?"

"It's my nature." Scott says.

"I know a werewolf's nature. I knew exactly what was coming— A trap."

 

* * *

 

_Deucalion's pack and the Argents stand inside the building._

_Gerard addresses them, "I think it's quite fitting that we are meeting in a distillery. You know, the process of distillation is the separating of two substances by pushing them into their different volatile states."_

_"_ _Volatile is exactly the state I was hoping to avoid." Deucalion tells him._

 _"_ _Ooh." Gerard says walking over and taking hold of a valve. "Then this is going to come as quite a big disappointment." He turns the valve, gas pours into the room choking not only the wolves but the hunters as well. Gerard pulls something out of his pocket, stabbing it into his leg._

 _"_ _What have you done?" Deucalion asks coughing._

"They attacked you?" Allison asks.

 _"_ _It was an ambush."_

_Gerard picks up a bat, fitted with several rows of curved steel spikes. "One of the earliest weapons used by man was the spiked mace. I've made one of my own. I'd love to get your opinion on it." Gerard walks around, taking out his own people with the mace._

_"_ _Your own people…" Deucalion says._

 _"_ _They wanted peace too." Gerard says. "Look what you did to them."_

 

* * *

 

"So did she turn?" Cora asks Peter.

"She should have. Most of the time, the bite takes. Most of the time."

"When you offered it to me, you said, "If it doesn't kill you." Stiles says.

"If." Peter says solemnly.

 

* * *

 

_Peter opens the doors to the cellar, running down the stairs they find Derek sitting on the floor at the base of the tree roots. Paige is cradled in his lap, Derek's hands holding her hand and her head._

_"_ _What's happening to her?" Derek asked them._

"He knew the answer, though. It didn't matter that she was young and strong. Some people just aren't made for this. But she fought. She struggled desperately, trying to survive."

 

* * *

 

_Deucalion claws his way out of the building, crawling on his belly._

_Deucalion stops, rolling over onto his back, he looks up at Gerard, "Don't. Don't do this. I had a vision, a vision of peace."_

_Gerard laughs, "A little shortsighted…" Gerard pulls out two arrows with flash bolt heads from behind him, holding them up above his head, "Wouldn't you say?"_

_He plunges them down into Deucalion's eyes, sparks shoot from his sockets as he screams. Moments later Gerard removes the arrows, stepping away from Deucalion and fleeing the scene._

 

* * *

 

_Derek takes Paige's hand lacing his fingers with hers, Derek pants heavily as her pain flows through his arm giving her some minor relief, Paige whimpers in his arms._

_"_ _I'm sorry." He tells her._

 _"_ _I knew."_

 _"_ _What do you mean?"_

 _"_ _Right after I told you my name, I think I knew. I've seen things in this town before, things no one really could explain. And then there's the way that you talk— How you say things, like how you'd "catch a scent." And I know you can hear things, things that no one else can hear. I knew."_

 _"_ _And you still liked me?"_

 _"_ _I loved you."_

_She cries out, Derek taking as much of her pain as he can, until she stops crying. "I'm gonna die… Aren't I?"_

_Derek nods to her, "Ow," she cries out in pain again. "Ow! I can't. I can't take it anymore. Derek, I can't. Derek. Please. Please."_

_Derek nods, he moves her so she's hugging his side, "I'm sorry," he whispers before his eyes turn yellow and he takes her life. He screams out, then whispers, "I'm sorry."_

 

* * *

 

"I remember taking her body from his arms, to the woods, to a place where I knew that it would be found… Another in a long line of Beacon Hills animal attacks."

"And what about Derek?" Cora asks.

"Taking an innocent life takes… Something from you as well, a bit of your soul… Darkening it, dimming the once brilliant, golden yellow to a cold, steel blue… Like mine." Peter lets his eyes go blue to emphasis his point.

Peter passes by the couch, he lays a hand on Tahlia's shoulder before heading upstairs to the other room. She sat quietly throughout his entire story, silent tears sliding down her cheeks. She now understood Derek better than she ever had before.

 

* * *

 

_Deaton takes the wraps off of Deucalion's eyes, Talia stands next to him._

_"_ _I'm sorry. The eyes will heal physically, but… Your sight is…" Deaton tells him._

_Deucalion opens his eyes, he is blind. He lets out a scream that shakes the entire building, he falls forward onto the table. "Leave me alone." He tells them all. Talia and Deaton leave, his Beta Marco, however, stays._

_"_ _Marco, I said…" He stands up facing him, "Leave me alone."_

 _"_ _You are alone." The Beta says before he reaches his claws back, he slashes at Deucalion, catching him on the arm. Deucalion suddenly realizes he can see through his wolf side, he watches Marco bring his arm back to slash at him again. He growls attacking the Beta, knocking him back onto the exam table, Deucalion goes rabid, tearing into the Beta's flesh._

 

* * *

 

"He sees as a wolf?" Scott asks.

"He's not always blind."

"Maybe we can use it against him." Allison says, Scott nods, the two of them standing up.

"Scott." Gerard asks pulling up his sleeve, Scott nods moving forward pulling up his as well. He takes Gerard's hand, both of them groaning as the pain leaves one and enters the other.

"Oh, I think about you sometimes, Scott. I do. I wonder, what if I'd done things differently? Getting the bite to cure my cancer. And I wonder when it became my nature to believe most things couldn't be asked for but had to be taken."

"I don't believe you. The whole time that you were telling your story, I was listening to your heartbeat. It never went up. It never went down. It was steady the whole time."

"Because I was telling the truth."

"Or because you're a really good liar." Scott reaches down taking his hand again, squeezing it in his werewolf grasp, "If you lied and it gets people hurt… I'll be back to take away more than your pain."

 

* * *

 

Back in the loft, Stiles and Cora are processing what they have just learned. Stiles looks so lost, Cora finally asks him, "What? What's this— What's this look on your face?"

"What look?"

"The kind of look that makes me want to punch you."

"Oh, my God. You are so Derek's sister. I forgot."

"Well, what is with the look?"

"I just don't believe him. All right, in Ms. Blake's class, we're reading _Heart of Darkness_ , and it's in first person, right? Narrated by Marlow. The thing is that he's— He's an unreliable narrator. You know the details of it have changed, you know, just because of his perspective."

"Well, then we heard the story from Peter's perspective."

"Right, and I don't think we got the whole story."

"So, what, are— Are you just gonna ask Derek about the girl he fell in love with and then killed?"

"If I have too… Yeah."

 

* * *

 

_Talia steps down into the cellar, she finds Derek sitting on the ground, his head in his hands._

_"_ _Derek…"_

 _"_ _I did something… Something terrible."_

_She kneels down in front of him, "I know." She places her fingers under his chin, lifting his head up, his eyes are closed._

_"_ _My eyes… They're different."_

_Talia smiles, "Different, but still beautiful… Just like the rest of you."_

_Derek opens his eyes, steel blue staring up at his mother._

 

* * *

 

Derek stands in the empty distillery, a sullen look on his face. He stares at the spiral carved into the wall, moonlight filtering in through the slashes from outside.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer - I do not own Teen Wolf or anything related to it. I only own my original character Tahlia and her family, and anything else that seems out of place.

* * *

 

Tahlia and Allison are at her house when the teen gets a phone call from Lydia. They rush out to Tahlia's truck heading for the school. On the way Allison calls Scott and Stiles to have them meet the girls there.

The two girls pull up finding Lydia standing in front of her car, she is shaking like a leaf in a tornado. They all turn as Scott pulls up on his bike, Stiles screeching to a halt beside him in his Jeep.

"Where is she?" Stiles asks the wolf.

"Over here." Allison calls out as the girls walk up to them.

"Lydia?" Stiles asks concerned as he sees Lydia shaking.

"It's the same thing. Same thing as the pool. I got in my car heading somewhere totally different, and I ended up here. And you told me to call you if there's a dead body."

Stiles is shocked, "You found a dead body?"

"Not yet."

"Not yet"? What do you mean "not yet"? Lydia, you're supposed to call us after you find the dead body." Stiles tells her.

Lydia shakes her head, holding up a finger. "Oh, no. I'm not doing that again. You find the dead body from now on."

Stiles is flabbergasted, "How are we supposed to find the dead body? You're always the one finding the dead body."

Tahlia is the only one noticing something has captured Scott's attention. He hollers to the others. "Guys, I found the dead body."

Laying upon the top of the school sign in the middle of the courtyard is a female body. Blood pouring down the sign, pooling on the ground below.

Tahlia recognizes the woman. "Oh, my God. It's Tara."

 

* * *

 

The next day the group heads to school minus Allison, which no one but Tahlia knows why she isn't there. Stiles is still distracted thinking about all the times that Tara had helped him with his homework at the station.

He and Scott sit in class listening to Ms. Blake carry on about idioms and how they become clichés. She keeps eyeing the two which makes them wonder why, like she knows something that they don't. Although she did see her boyfriend turn into a werewolf the other night as well as Boyd die, so maybe she has a reason to look at them that way.

Scott and Stiles talk about how they can get to Ethan, they realize they need someone's help to distract Aiden who has been attached to his brother's side since they returned to school. Both boys turn their attention to the desk behind them where Lydia sits drawing yet another tree in her notebook. She looks up noticing their attention on her and sighs.

"Now what?"

 

* * *

 

Lydia meets up with Aiden in Coach's empty office. Instead of hooking up like they usually do, they end up discussing Aiden helping Kali kill Boyd. Aiden confesses that even though he is an Alpha, he can't tell Kali no, he must do what she says. Suddenly a spiral is cut into the glass of the door window.

"What the hell is that?" Lydia asks watching as Aiden's jaw sets. "Derek."

 

* * *

 

In another hallway Scott, Stiles and Tahlia stand speaking to Ethan. "Why are you even talking to me? I helped kill your friend. How do you know I'm not gonna kill another one?" Ethan says looking at Stiles.

"Is he looking at me? Are you threatening me? You know what I'm gonna do?" Stiles pushes off the wall, moving towards Ethan. "I'm gonna break off an extra large branch of mountain ash, wrap it in Wolfsbane, roll it in Mistletoe, and shove it up your freaking—"

Scott pushes Stiles back before he can finish, "Who, Stiles, okay. We get it."

Tahlia smirks as she steps in between the wolf and teen, facing Stiles. "Down boy. Relax. He's not gonna do a thing."

"We're talking to you because I know that you didn't want to kill Boyd. And I think that if something like that happened now, you wouldn't do it again." Scott says.

"You don't know what we owe them, especially Deucalion. We weren't like Kali and Ennis when we met him. We weren't Alphas."

"What were you?"

"Omegas."

 

* * *

 

Downstairs Aiden steps out of the Coach's office, he's determined to face Derek. What he finds instead, is Cora. She attacks the Alpha slashing her claws down the front of his chest.

 

* * *

 

"In actual wolf packs, Omega's are the scapegoat, the last to eat, the one who has to take the abuse from the pack."

"So you and your brother were like the bitches of the pack?" Stiles quips causing Tahlia to hide her smirk behind her hand.

"Something like that."

"What happened?" Scott asks.

"They were killers. I mean, people talk about us as monsters. Well, they were the ones who gave us the reputation. And our Alpha was the worst of them."

"Why didn't you guys just fight back?" Stiles asks. "Form Voltron wolf, you know? Kick everyone's asses?"

"We couldn't, we didn't know how to control it back then."

"Deucalion taught you." Scott says.

"And then, we fought. We took down the whole pack, one-by-one. And by the time we got to our Alpha, he was begging for his life. And we tore him apart. Literally."

"What about your Emissary? They're all dead? Kali and Ennis' too?" Scott asks.

"All of them except for Deucalion."

"You mean Morell?" Stiles asks.

Suddenly Ethan grabs his chest, Scott steps forward, "What? What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"Not me. My brother."

 

* * *

 

Downstairs in the locker room, Ethan has grabbed Cora by the throat and thrown her across the room. She lands on the floor, slamming into the wall underneath the sinks. Aiden growls his fangs bared as he picks up a 100 pound weight walking over and standing above Cora.

"Aiden, stop! Stop!"

The Alpha ignores Lydia as he raises the weight over his head and then brings it down. It makes a sickening crunch as it connects with Cora's skull. The Beta falls to the floor at Lydia's feet, the girl crouching over the wolf. "Stop!"

The others rush in, Scott and Ethan grabbing Aiden, while Stiles and Tahlia kneel down beside Cora checking on her.

"Aiden! You can't do this!" Ethan yells at his brother after Scott wrenches the weight from him.

"She came at me!" Aiden says his fangs snapping.

"It doesn't matter! Kali gave Derek until the next full moon. You can't touch him or her."

Aiden sees the look Lydia gives him, he shakes his head as Ethan pulls him from the room.

"Hey, guys, I think she's pretty hurt." Stiles says looking at the wound on her head, that doesn't seem to be healing.

 

* * *

 

Cora stands walking over to the mirrors, she grabs a cloth and tries to clean up the wound.

"Are you okay?" Stiles asks her.

"She doesn't look okay." Lydia says.

"I'll heal," Cora says with a sigh, she steps back from the mirror wobbling, the boys step forward to grab her but she shrugs them off. "I said I'm fine."

"Do you realize how suicidally crazy that was?" Stiles asks her. "What were you thinking going after them?"

"I did it for Boyd. None of you were doing anything."

"We're trying." Scott says answering for his sister.

"And you're failing. You're just a bunch of stupid teenagers running around, thinking that you can stop people from getting killed. But all you do is show up late. All you really do is find the bodies." Cora turns and walks out.

Stiles steps forward, "She's definitely a Hale. I'll make sure she gets home."

 

* * *

 

Tahlia leaves the teens heading out to her truck, she got a call from Chris updating her on several things he found. She pauses as she sees Jennifer slinking out of the school and heading down to the tunnel area that leads out to the field. Being a huntress Tahlia easily makes it to a position she can watch the woman without being noticed. A figure steps out from behind the far wall, Tahlia knows by the build it's Derek.

Jennifer smiled as she saw him, running into his arms. He caught her holding her tight, kissing her hard.

She pulled back exhaling, "Where the hell have you been? And don't say that you needed to be alone for a while because that is the single worst excuse ever."

She looked up into his face seeing the pain on it. "Oh. God, I'm sorry. You really did need to be alone, didn't you?"

"I'm here now. And you were safe. Trust me."

"I haven't felt safe, partially because the evil twins are walking around school like nothing happened."

"They're not gonna hurt you."

They both smile… Until the bell rings. The woman sighs, "Some days, I just wanna take a sledgehammer to that bell."

Derek smiles, "Why don't you just come back with me?"

"I can't. I've got three more classes and I put this recital together tonight. I organized it to honor the losses at the school and—and now, it just sounds really stupid, doesn't it?"

"No. It sounds perfect."

The two kiss once more and then the woman takes her leave. She's still smiling as she walks back up the stairs leading to the school.

"Well aren't you two just a match made in heaven?"

Jennifer startles hearing the voice behind her, she turns finding Tahlia leaning against the side of the school. Tahlia watches as a glint appears in the teacher's eye and her smile turns into what the huntress can only translate as an evil grin. Tahlia knows there is something off about Jennifer and what better way to find out than to rile the woman up.

"Jealous?"

"Of you?" Tahlia chuckles shoving herself off of the wall and striding towards the woman. "Please. I'm twice the woman you are. You see, that whole damsel in distress thing, really outdated don't you think?"

"Perhaps, but Derek seems to like it."

"Derek's old fashioned that way. I think a woman should be able to take care of herself. Derek may not always be around." Tahlia tips her head, "I'm really good at reading people and something tells me that there is much more to you than meets the eye. Am I right?"

"100%." Jennifer steps up in front of the huntress, towering over her by about three inches. "But I don't mind it when people underestimate me, it gives me the advantage."

"Well, that is something we agree on. I don't underestimate anyone, but Derek does. So I'm just giving you a friendly warning. Derek is my friend, I have seen him go through too much heartbreak and I will not allow you to hurt him." Tahlia matches Jennifer's glare with an icy one of her own. "If you even think of causing him pain, I'll cut out your heart."

"You overestimate yourself Tahlia."

"And you underestimate me. That will be your fatal mistake, Jennifer. Derek cares for me, so please don't give me a reason to kill you and cause him to hate me."

"He does care for you, but he loves me. So don't think for a second you can drive a wedge between us. I'm not going anywhere."

"I have no intention of splitting the two of you up. You'll do that all on your own, and when you do, I'll be there to watch you fall. You don't scare me Jennifer. In this world, you're the prey and I'm the hunter."

Tahlia's head snapped to the side, clearly she had struck a nerve with the woman. Jennifer turned, storming back inside, Tahlia smirked wiping the blood drops from the corner of her mouth. There was something not right with Jennifer and Tahlia was determined to find out what.

 

* * *

 

Scott meanwhile goes to see Morell and find out what she knows. She informs him that she is the one that is controlling the Alphas, keeping them from killing Derek and the rest of the group. She tells him that Deucalion both wants him in his pack but is threatened by him as well. He wants to turn Scott into a killer but once he does, Scott cannot be a True Alpha. Scott will either willingly become a member of the pack or Deucalion will make a killer out of him. Scott informs her that will never happen. She sits back in her chair smiling, she tells him that he is already doing it, he's playing right into Deucalion's trap. And while Scott is trying to figure out what to do next, Deucalion is thinking ten steps ahead.

Stiles is headed to his home with Cora, he received a call from Allison telling him what she and Isaac found out in her father's office. Now with Cora's help he aims to tell his Dad everything.

 

* * *

 

An hour later Tahlia is standing in a classroom along with Jennifer who seems to be irritated by her presence which causes the huntress to smile. In between them stands Lydia and Aiden. Behind them on the chalkboard is a drawing of a 5 fold knot, a number 2 in the far right circle that Lydia drew during one of her episodes. Two security guards stand behind them.

"I don't get why no one's calling the police?"

"They're gonna make an announcement over the P.A." Jennifer starts to say but the red-head interrupts her.

"That's not gonna do anything! I told you, he's gone. Like the others, taken."

"Okay. Look, we're just trying to understand, okay? All we know is that Mr. Westover didn't show up for class."

"And the last time that happened was Mr. Harris. Anyone heard from him lately. He's gone." She walks over to the chalkboard pointing at the number. "And he's going to be the second murder."

"But, Lydia, you wrote that number."

"What the hell does that have to do with anything?" Tahlia snaps. "He's missing, along with all the others that ended up dead. It's worth looking into."

Lydia sighs, "Okay, fine. I'm psychic."

"You're psychic?" Ms. Blake snarks.

"I'm something!"

Tahlia looks over to see Scott and Ethan standing it the doorway surrounded by other students. "A deputy and a teacher?" Ethan asks. "What's the pattern?"

"I don't know."

Stiles in the meantime was trying to convince his dad of everything that is going on. Of course, the Sheriff thinks he's absolutely crazy when Stiles tells him that Cora, currently sitting on the bed, is a werewolf. Before Cora can prove it, she faints. The two rush to her sides, calling an ambulance they take her to the hospital.

 

* * *

 

Allison convinced that her father is the one killing people, sets out with Isaac to find out where Mr. Westover find a point on the telluric current map that matches one on Argent's map.

"FYI, if your dad tries to kill me, I'm gonna defend myself."

"If my dad tries to kill you, you'll be dead."

Isaac scoffs, "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

Suddenly Isaac stops, "Whoa."

"What?" Allison asks.

"I smell blood."

"Where? What direction?"

"I don't know. I'm not that good at this yet. But I think it's…" He points ahead of them and the two begin forward, Allison pulling out one of her ring daggers.

"Allison."

She keeps walking, "Allison, wait."

They see the teacher ahead of them strapped to a fence, a creature standing behind him. Allison wastes no time, running forward.

"Allison, don't!" Isaac says running after her.

"Get down!" Chris says running out behind them, guns drawn. He fires at the creature as it turns to run.

"Help him!" Chris yells to the two teens while still firing at the creature.

"It's Mr. Westover." Allison says.

"It's our History teacher." Isaac says, his uncertain eyes meeting his Alpha's.

"We were wrong. It's not Guardians as in Law Enforcement." Allison says.

 

* * *

 

"It's Philosophers as in teachers." Scott says on the phone with Stiles, "Allison and her father just found Mr. Westover."

"That makes sense. Tara she wasn't always a cop. She used to teach middle school."

"Then the last one's gonna be another teacher."

"Yeah, but there's dozens of them, Scott, and they're all headed home."

"No." Scott says standing outside of the school. "No, they're not. They're all going to the recital."

 

* * *

 

"You've been tracking the killer on your own this whole time?" Allison says looking to her dad.

"Yeah, and I was this close. Could've caught him if the two of you…"

"So it's my fault?" Allison asks approaching her father. "That you've been lying to me for the past two months?"

"You wanna tally up the lies, Allison? I don't think you're gonna come out ahead on that one."

"Hey, just a thought? Maybe right now, isn't the best time for a little family meeting?" Isaac suggests. "There's still one more teacher."

"The recital." Chris says.

"Guess we're going after all." Allison quips.

 

* * *

 

At the hospital Stiles is following his father through the halls to the front doors, still trying to convince his father of the things that are really going on in Beacon Hills.

"What did you see the night at the bank the night when Scott was trying to save Deaton?"

"Nothing."

"Dad, you saw him healing himself after he tried crossing the mountain ash."

"I don't know what I saw."

"You saw something that you can't explain."

"Stiles, I have seen a lot of things I can't explain in this town. That doesn't make 'em supernatural and it doesn't make 'em real. They just found another body. That's real. And that's the lead I'm following."

"Yeah, and another teachers gonna die if you don't start listening to me."

"I am listening! I have been listening!" The Sheriff yells.

Stiles finally gets it, "You just don't believe."

The Sheriff holds up his finger, shaking it he turns to leave.

"Mom would've believed me."

 

* * *

 

At the recital, Scott is standing beside Tahlia, the two of them looking over the crowd. They see the twins and Ms. Morrell in the crowd. He turns to his right and sees Lydia, "I thought you were going home."

"I can't. I don't know why I am the one that keeps finding the bodies, but maybe if I just stopped trying to fight it, I'd find them before it happens, maybe with enough time for someone like you to do something about it."

"You get me the time, and I'll do something about it. I swear to God, I will." Scott tells her his voice full of conviction. Lydia nods taking Scott's hand in hers, squeezing it.

 

* * *

 

Derek sits by Cora's bedside holding her hand in his, his mouth resting on their hands, his eyes shining with tears.

"Derek?" Cora mutters, opening her eyes.

Derek jumps up from the chair, moving up by her face, "Hey. Hey, I'm here."

"What's happening to me?"

"I don't know. But I'm not leaving, okay? Not again."

Cora nods closing her eyes as Derek kisses her forehead.

 

* * *

 

Out in the lobby, Sheriff Stilinski is speaking to Scott and Rayne's mother. "The records would be over ten years old. I just need to look over a couple files."

"If this is about the murders, you'd need a court order for that." Melissa says, as the Sheriff sighs. "Or someone like me that's willing to bend the rules for a handsome face." She sets a pad of paper and a pen on the desk. "Give me the details. I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you."

 

* * *

 

Allison, Isaac and Chris arrive outside of the school for the recital.

Inside Lydia gets a text from Aiden, 'Need to see you right now.' He looks around finding her, he nods. She gets another text, 'Life or death!'

"It better be." She says walking away from Scott and Tahlia.

Behind the wolf and huntress through the doors walks Chris, followed by Allison and Isaac. Scott turns to look at them, he gets a nod from Allison, but Isaac looks slightly worried because he's with Scott's ex-girlfriend. The three continue around the room.

 

* * *

 

Back at the hospital, down in the morgue, Melissa is showing the Sheriff what she has found. "There was a patient just like you described. Slash marks all over the body. Doctors thought it had to be an animal."

She sets down one set of charts. "Oh," She picks up another one. "But there's something else. Something happened at the same time that was even stranger."

Inside the assembly hall Stiles has joined Scott and Tahlia. Aiden is fumbling around, searching his pockets. Ethan notices, "What's up?"

"Nothing. I just think I lost my phone."

"Birds?"

"Hundreds of them. While the patient was in the O.R. struggling to hold on, hundreds of birds were flying into the walls, windows, like they were committing some kind of mass suicide."

"Or like they were sacrificing themselves."

"For what?"

"Not what. Who."

 

* * *

 

Lydia meanwhile is headed to Ms. Blake's classroom, looking for Aiden. She hears the same music she heard when Mr. Harris went missing.

"You recognize it don't you?"

Lydia gasps turning to find Ms. Blake herself behind her, she hits Lydia in the head with a stick, knocking her out.

 

* * *

 

Tahlia heads out the same way she saw Lydia go. Shortly after the red-head had left she noticed Ms. Blake was missing as well, that sent a rise of suspicion through the huntress. Tahlia crept silently down the hallway, she heard movement coming from a classroom. Glancing up through the window Tahlia can see Lydia sitting unconscious in a chair. Seeing no one else around Tahlia nudges the door open and slinks inside, her gun in her hand.

Just as she reaches Lydia a sound from behind gets her attention, she barely sees the cord that comes over head. What she does see is the hands holding the cord out of the corner of her eye. She quickly raises her free hand to her throat catching the cord as it is pulled taunt.

"Whose the damsel in distress now Tahlia?" Jennifer chuckles into the huntress's ear.

"It's about to be you." Tahlia says placing the tip of her gun against Jennifer's leg and firing a round into the flesh.

Jennifer yelps dropping the cord, Tahlia then elbows her in the stomach and again in the face knocking the woman down. She turns around aiming the gun at Jennifer's chest, but the woman raises her hand sending Tahlia flying through the air and crashing into the wall behind Lydia. The huntress lands face first on the floor, her gun sliding underneath the desk in front of her.

She hears Jennifer approaching her and shoves herself to her feet, swinging a leg round she knocks Jennifer to the floor. She quickly jumps on top of the teacher pinning her arms down, but Jennifer raises her head up catching Tahlia in the face. She takes the distraction, rolling the huntress underneath of her and raining punches down onto her face and abdomen.

Tahlia manages to knock Jennifer off of her with a punch to her temple. She then wraps her legs around the woman's neck squeezing as tight as she can. Jennifer panics as the huntress cuts off her air supply. She fumbles blindly for anything to aid her in getting free. She manages to free the knife in her waistband and with a swift movement she jams it down into Tahlia's thigh.

The huntress screams as Jennifer frees herself and stands up. Tahlia reaches down, taking hold of the knife and pulling it from her flesh, a scream leaving her throat. Before she can retaliate Jennifer smashes something over her head and all Tahlia sees is darkness.

 

* * *

 

Scott and Stiles run out front of the school, the two of them yelling for her.

"Lydia?" Stiles yells.

"Lydia!"

"Lydia!"

"Anything?" Stiles asks the two wolves as they search the grounds with their wolf vision and their hearing. "She's not answering texts." Stiles says checking his phone. "What do we do? Scott?"

 

* * *

 

Tahlia rouses herself, noticing first she is suspended by her wrists from the ceiling. In front of her she can see Lydia beginning to come around. The huntress tries to pull herself up, her breath coming in short gasps. Her leg is throbbing, she can feel the sticky blood soaking through her jeans.

Lydia comes to, touching her head, she sees blood on her fingertips, in front of her kneels Ms. Blake, "What are you doing?"

"What's necessary." The teacher says. "I'm still surprised none of you seem to get that. You call them sacrifices, but you're not understanding the word. It's derived from the Latin Sacrificium, and offering to a deity, a sacred rite. A necessary evil.

"Stop." Lydia says weakly.

"Oh, I wish I could. But you don't know the Alphas like I do."

"Please, stop."

Ms. Blake stands up walking around behind the teen girl, "But you, Lydia, you're not a sacrifice. You're just a girl who knows too much. Actually, a girl who knew too much."

She wraps a cord around Lydia neck, the girl puts one of her hands up to keep it off her throat.

"Lydia, don't!"

Suddenly, Lydia shrieks as loud as possible.

 

* * *

 

Four people grab their heads as they hear the scream. Scott drops to his knees as Stiles eyes him, "Scott?" Isaac covers his ears as he stands next to Chris. And the twins cover theirs in the audience. Even Derek hears it at the hospital.

 

* * *

 

Lydia stops after a moment, her body drained of energy, she whimpers as her hand falls to her lap. Ms. Blake drops the cord and walks back around standing in front of Lydia.

"Unbelievable. You have no idea what you are, do you? The Wailing Woman. A banshee, right before my eyes. You're just like me, Lydia. Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under it. It's too bad, though… And too late."

She walks to Lydia's right side, duck taping her arm to the chair.

Lydia cries, "No, please…"

She duct tapes her other hand down, then moves behind the girl and turns the bar tightening the cord around Lydia's neck. The teen gasps, choking. Ms. Blake pulls out a knife, "One last Philosopher."

 

* * *

 

Inside the auditorium, the possessed orchestra is playing the song that Lydia heard when the teacher was taken. Everyone in the crowd is unnerved, looking around wondering what is going on. Suddenly a string on the piano snaps, slitting the teachers neck open, killing her. The band stops playing, the crowd starts screaming and running for the exits.

"Allison!" Chris yells as she runs down to the stage, Isaac following them.

Allison sees a white substance dripping from the woman's mouth, "Mistletoe."

 

* * *

 

In the room, Ms. Blake is just about to slit Lydia's throat when—

"Drop it!" The Sheriff is standing, gun drawn.

Tahlia and Lydia let out a breath of air. Ms. Blake smiles, she throws the knife, it embeds in the right side of the Sheriff's chest, he drops his gun as he falls to the floor. She hears a loud growl and looks up to find Scott fully shifted, eyes flashing.

He rushes the teacher, jumping over the tops of tables towards the front of the room. Scott swipes at her with his claws, she dodges hitting him with a flat palm in his chest. He flies back across the room and lands in a huge pile of chairs. As he hits the floor face first, a gush of blood spills from his mouth.

Stiles comes to the open door, Ms. Blake sees him and with a touch of her fingertips, she pushes the desk over slamming the door shut in Stiles' face. The Sheriff takes the moment to grab his gun and point it at Ms. Blake, "There was a girl. Years ago, we found her in the woods, her face and body slashed apart. That was you, wasn't it?"

"Maybe I should've started with Philosophers, with knowledge and strategy." She advances on the Sheriff who fires a shot into her thigh, the hole instantly closes. "Healers…" She grabs him by the knife and lifts him up, he drops the gun as she shoves him back into the stacks of chairs. "Warriors…" She rips his badge off his shirt, "Guardians…" Crushing the badge in half with her bare hand. "Virgins." She kisses the Sheriff, then suddenly before his eyes she turns into the hideous Darach creature.

Stiles finally pushes his way into the room, as Scott stands up clutching his stomach. They run over to the busted out window, Stiles calling out, "Dad?"

The two boys run over to the girls, Stiles freeing Lydia and Scott cutting down Tahlia. The huntress crumples to the ground. She looks up at them gasping for air, "Derek. We've got to get to Derek."


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer - I do not own Teen Wolf or anything related to it. I only own my original character Tahlia and her family, and anything else that seems out of place.

* * *

 

A massive storm has manifested around Beacon Hills as well as the surrounding areas. The hospital is busy transporting all of their patients to other facilities outside of the storm area.

Peter stands in Cora's room dabbing her head with a cloth, she has a fever and is practically pouring sweat. He looks out into the hallway. "Hey, anyone want to tell me when they're getting my niece out of here?" He turns back to dab her head.

"Sorry, but she wasn't, uh…" Melissa walks into the room not realizing Peter is standing there until she looks up. "You're supposed to be dead."

"I get that a lot actually."

The monitor starts beeping rapidly as Cora jolts awake, quickly leaning on her side, she vomits a pool of black blood onto the floor.

 

* * *

 

Tahlia sits in the back of Stiles' Jeep with the first aid kit on the seat beside her. She diligently stitches up the knife wound in her leg then wraps a bandage around it.

By the time she finishes they have arrived at the apartment building. The three quickly go up to Derek's loft, finding him sitting on the couch. He straightens up as he sees them, his eyes instantly going to the bright white bandage on Tahlia's leg.

"Derek." Tahlia says stepping forward as he stands in front of her. "Do you trust me?"

 

* * *

 

"Derek?" Jennifer opens the door to the loft, rushing down the stairs. "Derek, where are you?"

"Right here." He steps out from her left. Jennifer sighs, "Thank God."

She rushes towards him hugging him tight. She pulls back from him, but she takes a hold of his hand. "Something happened at the recital. At the school. Okay, I needed to tell you before you hear it, before you hear any of it from them."

"From who?"

"Scott, Stiles. Tahlia." She spits out the woman's name drawing a curious look from Derek. "They're gonna tell you things. Things you can't believe. You have to trust me, okay? You trust me."

"What is it?"

"Promise you'll listen to me."

"I promise."

Jennifer leans in kissing him, but soon realizes something is not right. She pulls away staring into his eyes, "They're already here, aren't they?"

Derek's eyes shift behind Jennifer where the trio steps out from behind the broken brick wall. The huntress and the woman lock eyes, Jennifer smirks as she sees the bruise around Tahlia's neck.

"So… They told you it was me? That I'm the one taking people?"

"We told him you're the one killing people." Scott states.

"Oh, that's right." Jennifer chuckles. "Committing human sacrifices? What, cutting their throats? Yeah, I probably do it on my lunch hour. That way I can get back to teaching high school English the rest of the day. That makes perfect sense."

"Where's my dad?" Stiles chokes out, tears falling from his eyes.

Jennifer gives the two boys her best innocent look. "How should I know?" She turns to Derek to find the dark look on his face as his eyes shift between her and the others. "Derek, tell me you don't believe this."

Derek's eyes shift from Jennifer to the two boys, he takes in Scott's venomous stare and Stiles' tear filled eyes. His eyes move to the huntress, the dark bruise around her neck contrasting against her pale skin. "Do you know what happened to Stiles' father?"

Her tone is pleading, "No."

"Ask her why she almost killed Lydia."

Jennifer's head whips around to stare at Scott, "Lydia Martin? I don't know anything about that."

"What do you know?" Derek demands.

"I know that these boys for whatever misguided reason, are filling your head with an absurd story." She turns back to the boys. "And one they can't prove, by the way."

Scott holds up a bottle filled with a white substance. "What if we can?"

"What is that?"

Scott steps forward slowly opening the bottle top. "My boss told me it's a poison and a cure… Which means you can use it… And it can be used against you."

Jennifer catches the scent as Scott removes the top, she backs up several steps. "Mistletoe."

Scott flings the bottle towards her sending the powder through the air. As it reaches her, the four watch as she roars, transforming back and forth between her body and the Darach. She comes back to herself as the powder dissipates, Derek's face is a mixture of disbelief and hurt. Jennifer sees the look the Alpha male gives her and bolts for the door, only to have a powerful hand wrap around her throat and drag her backwards.

Jennifer claws at Derek's hand, "Derek, wait, wait! You need me."

Derek flicks out the claws on his left hand, his teeth clenched prepared to kill her. "What are you?"

"The only person who can save your sister. Call Peter. Call him!"

Derek keeps his hold on Jennifer and takes out his phone calling his Uncle.

_"It's not good. She's in and out of consciousness. She's vomiting up black blood along with one other alarming substance."_

"Mistletoe." Derek says earning a scowl from Peter. _"How did you know that?"_

Derek ends the phone call, his lips set into a tight line as he squeezes his hand preparing to crush Jennifer's larynx, she gasps for air as his grip tightens.

"Derek. Derek, what are you doing?" Scott's question goes unanswered as the Alpha applies more pressure.

"Her life— It's in my hands!" Jennifer chokes out.

Derek lifts her into the air, her legs dangling a few feet off the floor. Stiles hurriedly steps forward knowing Jennifer is the only way to find his father. "Stop. Derek, stop!"

"Stilinski, you'll never find him." Jennifer grits out knowing her last hope for Derek to release her is the two boys.

"Derek." Scott says knowing he has to save the woman. "Derek!"

The Alpha lets Jennifer go, she crumples to the ground gasping for air, the thunder outside rumbles loudly. The four observe as Jennifer begins chuckling looking up from the floor directly at Derek. "That's right. You need me." Her head whips towards the other three. "All of you."

 

* * *

 

The group moves down to the vehicles splitting up Stiles and Scott in the Jeep, while Derek pleaded with Tahlia to ride with him. So here the huntress sat in the backseat grimacing at the pain in her leg while she listened to Jennifer speak from the front seat.

"You should know I'm not doing this cause I have too. I want too. I could still run, and you wouldn't have an easy time stopping me. But I don't want your sister to die. I'm only doing what I had to do."

Derek meets Tahlia's eyes in the mirror, her gaze comforting the Alpha. "Shut up."

"You need to hear the whole story Derek. You need to know just how connected we really are."

"Stop talking."

 

* * *

 

In the Jeep behind him Scott notices Stiles' troubled face. "I don't know, something feels wrong about this. We proved it to Derek, but she still had this look like it didn't matter. You know, like it was all still going according to plan. You saw it, didn't you?"

 

* * *

 

The two vehicles pull up outside of the hospital, the group climbs out. Scott, Stiles and Tahlia lead the way, the huntress' hands on her guns at her thighs. Scott looks over seeing Stiles holding a bat. "Why do you have a bat?"

"Well, you two got claws and guns. I got a bat."

Derek and Jennifer lead the way through the hospital, the Alpha holding the woman's arm in a vise grip as they walk through the halls.

"Scott! Scott!" The Beta turns to find his mom running up behind them, she eyes the group mainly Tahlia whose hands rest on the hilts of her guns in her thigh holsters. "What are you doing here? The hospital's evacuating."

Scott turns around, "We're here for Cora."

"What? All of you? Why does Stiles have my bat?"

"Mom, just trust me on this. You need to get out of here." A beat passes, the thunder rumbles as Scott eyes his mother. "Right now."

Melissa's gaze moves from Scott to the others behind them. "The building is supposed to be clear in thirty minutes. We've got two ambulances that are coming back. One's ten minutes out, the other's twenty. Cora needs to be on one of those. They'll be picking up in the basement garage."

"Got it."

"Okay." Melissa watches as the group heads down the hallway towards the elevator.

Jennifer sighs as the elevator doors close, she glances down at Derek's clawed hand on her arm. "You don't have to keep me on a leash, Derek. I'm going to help." She turns her head to the left to find both Scott and Tahlia watching her closely, the huntress's guns in hand. She then turns to her right to find Stiles behind Derek, bat poised ready to strike her. She rolls her eyes as the elevator comes to a stop, the bell dinging as the doors open.

The five walk down the hall towards Cora's room, the lights above them flickering. Derek pauses in the doorway noticing Cora's empty bed, then the puddle of black blood on the floor.

"Derek." He follows Scott's gaze to the floor seeing the dark drops heading out of the room and down the hall leading through a set of closed doors where they can hear muffled grunting coming from the other side.

Seconds later a body is thrown out of the doors on his back, sliding to a stop at their feet, Peter looks up at them with a groan. "We got a problem." He lifts his head up glancing back through the doors. "Big problem."

The giant Alpha stands inside the doors roaring at them. Derek shifts, both Alphas roaring at one another they rush the other. Derek hits the giant down low around the stomach with a shoulder shoving him back a few feet. The giant drops an elbow on Derek's back, the Alpha retaliates with a punch to the giant's stomach. The giant grabs Derek by the back of his neck, nailing him in the face with several elbows, then picks him up and slams him against the wall.

Scott shifts charging the giant, he jumps up shoving himself off of the wall towards the giant. He swipes at the giant missing as he lands in a crouch. The two trade swipes of claws neither hitting their mark on the other. While the two fight Stiles sees an opening to reach Cora who lies on the ground behind the giant unconscious. He turns to Tahlia then leans down tugging on Peter. "Help me." The three rush past the two fighting wolves grabbing Cora.

The giant lifts Scott up pinning him to the wall by a massive hand on his throat. "Ethan, Aiden, Stop! You don't know what you're doing."

"All we want is her."

Derek and the giant look up as the doors to the elevator begin to close, Jennifer gives Derek a sorrowful look.

 

* * *

 

Tahlia takes off towards the stairwell, she can hear the elevator moving towards the ground floor. Halfway down she pauses, something was wrong, the elevator was coming back up again. Tahlia rapidly climbed the stairs back up to the floor she had just left. The elevator had already stopped the doors open, but no sign of Jennifer.

Tahlia stood calmly against the wall her guns in hand. She wouldn't chase the monster, she would stand and wait, it would come to her. Sure enough the sound of footfalls approached from around the corner.

Jennifer turned the corner coming face to barrel with Tahlia's gun. "Please run. Give me an excuse to shoot you because I'm barely containing myself."

Jennifer raises her hands, "I'm only trying to protect myself. You must understand that. I didn't intend to hurt Derek, I never wanted him to find out about me."

"And yet he did. I told you if you hurt him I would cut out your heart." She draws her knife from her waistband holding it up to Jennifer's chest. "But, now that I know what you are. I know you'd sooner heal before I could inflict that much damage. But I'm not above handing you over to the Alpha pack."

"But you won't will you Tahlia? You're a protector."

"Yes I am."

Jennifer smirks as Tahlia puts the knife away, but without a warning Tahlia fires a round into Jennifer's stomach garnering a gasp from the woman. "However, I don't protect killers. So the only way you are going to walk out of this hospital alive, is if you come with me right now and heal Cora."

Jennifer groans as the gunshot heals, standing up she nods to the huntress. Tahlia motions for Jennifer to walk ahead of her, Jennifer obliges but drops to her knees as a bullet penetrates the middle of her back. Tahlia steps over leaning down beside the woman. "That was for Derek. Betray us and I will unload both of these clips into your brain. Can you heal from that?"

 

* * *

 

Peter picks up Cora holding her over his shoulder. The group rushes down the hall, maneuvering into an exam room. Derek rushes them towards the doors on the opposite end. "Don't stop, don't stop!"

Stiles looks down at the bat in his hand, hearing the giant roaring behind them.

Derek notices the teen has stopped and hollers to him. "Stiles!"

Stiles stands in wait on the left side of the doors and waits for the giant to come through. When it enters Stiles moves forward smashing the bat on the back of its skull. All this serves to do is shatter the bat into pieces and irritate the giant who turns towards the teen with a deep growl. Stiles slinks along the wall working his way over behind Derek.

Scott looks up at the ceiling at the florescent lights. Derek sees what Scott is going for so as the Beta leaps into the air Derek grabs his foot lifting him up to the ceiling. Scott grabs the end of the light tearing it from the panel and slamming it into the giant.

The group hears the power shutting down, followed by the lights flickering before the hospital is blanketed in darkness. Seconds later the backup generators come on, low emergency lights come on, but it still leaves the hospital nearly black.

Peter steps into another exam room with Stiles in tow, he lays Cora down on a table as Scott and Derek run in, the Alpha slamming the doors shut behind him.

"Where's the big guy?"

"He's close." Derek answers looking out the doors.

"Where's Tahlia?" Peter asks looking around for the huntress.

"She went after Jennifer." Derek answers again, worry in his tone hoping the huntress is alright alone.

This gets Stiles' attention. "What about Ms. Blake?" Stiles questions even though somehow he knows the answer is something he won't like as Scott shakes his head. "What do you mean? What does that mean? Like, she's gone? Scott, are you kidding me?"

"Shh, quiet." Derek snaps.

Stiles steps up face to face with the Alpha. "Me be quiet? Me, huh? Are you telling me what to do now? When your psychotic, mass murdering girlfriend— the second one you've dated, by the way— has got my dad somewhere, tied up, waiting to be ritually sacrificed?"

"Stiles, they're still out there." Scott reminds him.

"And— And they want her, right? Which means now we don't have her either, so my dad and Cora are both dead!"

"Not yet." Scott says defiantly as he turns to Peter. "Is she really dying?"

"She's definitely not getting any better."

"There has to be something that we can do. We have to help her."

The door to their right snaps open revealing Jennifer, behind her stands Tahlia, gun in hand but not pointed at the woman.

"You can't. Only I can. I can save her, and I can tell you where Sheriff Stilinski is. But there is a pack of Alphas in this hospital who want me dead. So I'll help you… But only when I'm out of here and safe. Only then."

Derek tosses a table to the side advancing on Jennifer, but he's stopped by Tahlia who steps in front of the woman setting a hand on the Alpha's chest. "Derek, wait!"

"She was trying to get out."

"I was trying to keep from getting killed. You can't blame me for that."

Stiles steps forward, "If you want to show you're one of the good guys, then heal her."

"Not until I'm safe."

"I'd like to volunteer a different method of persuasion." Peter grins, "Let's torture her."

"Works for me." Derek says snatching Tahlia's wrist from his chest, holding it tightly in his hand.

"Um, can I have your attention?" The group recognizes Melissa voice over the intercom. "Mr. Deucalion. Excuse, me, just Deucalion— requests you bring the woman calling herself Jennifer Blake to the E.R. Reception. Do this, and everyone else can leave. You have ten minutes."

"He's not gonna hurt her."

"Shut up." Derek says pointing a finger at Jennifer.

"He won't!" She states. "Scott, you know why. Tell them it's true."

"What does she mean?" Derek questions eyeing the teen.

Jennifer sighs seeing that Scott isn't going to tell them. "You're not the only one he wants in his pack. Deucalion doesn't just want an Alpha pack. He wants perfection. That means adding the rarest of Alphas to his ranks."

"A true Alpha." Peter says with an unbelieving tone.

"What's that?" Stiles asks.

"The kind that doesn't have to steal his power from another." Peter informs them. "One that can rise by the force of his own will. Our little Scott."

"It doesn't matter. We still need to get her out of here."

"Scott, your mom—" Stiles says stepping forward.

"My mom said there's one more ambulance coming in twenty minutes. Now, I don't think we've been here that long, so if we can get down to the garage, get to the last ambulance, we can get out of here."

"The twins aren't gonna let us just walk out." Peter reminds him of the two pissed off Alphas.

"I'll distract them."

"You mean fight 'em." Derek states.

"Whatever I have to do."

"I'll help you."

"Um, sorry, but I'm not going anywhere without you, Derek." Jennifer says shaking her head.

"I'll do it." Peter says receiving skeptical looks from the others. "But I'd prefer to be out there with an advantage."

"An advantage like what? You mean like a weapon?" Stiles asks.

"Something better than a baseball bat."

 

* * *

 

The group starts rummaging through the drawers looking for anything that would equalize the playing field. Stiles picks up the defibrillator paddles. "Hey, wait. What about these?"

"Do you know how to use those?" Derek asks.

"Well, no."

"Put 'em down," the Alpha orders.

Scott picks up a giant syringe uncapping the three inch needle on the end. "Epinephrine?"

"That's only gonna make him stronger." Derek says looking up from the cabinet he is rummaging through. However this gets Peter's attention. "How strong?"

Tahlia takes the needle from Scott giving a almost evil smile. "May I do the honors?" She jabs the needle into Peter's chest without so much as a flinch, depressing the plunger sending the drug coursing through Peter's body.

Peter steps out into the hallway, panting heavily he looks down at the syringe still pierced through his pectoral. He rips it out, joined by Scott he looks at the twins standing at the end of the hall. "All right, boys. Let's rumble."

Yellow and blue clash with red as the four growl rushing one another. The twins form the giant, grabbing Peter first and sending him slamming into the wall. While Scott and Peter continue to be tossed around like rag dolls the other three make their way down to the garage with Derek carrying Cora.

"It's still here!" Stiles rushes over opening the back doors and climbing in, he takes hold of Cora as Derek hands her to him setting her onto the gurney inside.

"Derek, over here." The Alpha steps over to the left side of the ambulance where Jennifer and Tahlia stand prone staring at the dead body of the paramedic. The three approach the body slowly, but stop hearing footfalls.

"Julia." Kali steps around the front of the ambulance, her bare feet leaving bloody footprints behind her. On her finger she twirls the ambulance keys. "It is you."

Stiles shuts the doors as Jennifer steps behind the Alpha. "You can't beat her on your own."

"That's why we're gonna run." The three move slowly backwards, Jennifer bolts for the door followed by Tahlia and Derek. They rush inside Tahlia and Derek heading down the hall, before Jennifer stops them, "Wait, wait! The elevator!"

Kali shows up at the end of the hall, Tahlia pulls her guns, looking over her shoulder at Derek. "Go."

"You can't take her on your own." Derek protests.

"Go!" The huntress orders.

"Tahlia." Derek's face is a mixture of fear and regret.

The huntress takes a deep breath. "Just go."

Jennifer pulls Derek into the elevator as Kali rushes Tahlia, Derek shuts his eyes breathing hard as the doors shut, gunshots ringing out behind them. All of a sudden the power goes out, the elevator stops blanketing the two in a dim glow.

 

* * *

 

Tahlia hits Kali with four perfect shots to the torso slowing the Alpha down. But it doesn't stop her, as she barrels down the corridor towards the huntress. Tahlia runs towards her then drop slides across the floor taking Kali out at the knees dropping the wolf to her back. Tahlia stands up firing at the Alpha, but Kali avoids them jumping from the floor to the wall and off again. She lands in front of Tahlia kicking out and knocking both guns from her hands. The she-wolf swings her razor sharp claws at Tahlia but the huntress blocks both shots with her forearms. She head butts the wolf dazing her for a moment but she comes right back on the offensive slashing Tahlia across the right bicep.

"Ahh!" Tahlia screams clutching the four deep gashes with her free hand. She looks up as Kali comes to stand before her.

"You'd make a great wolf Tahlia. But you need to work on who you choose to protect."

"I'm not protecting her. I'm protecting my friends, and unfortunately we need her to save one of them. Of course, had you not left her for dead, she wouldn't be here trying to kill us all now."

"I didn't have a choice."

"Is that what Deucalion made you believe? Do you believe everything he tells you, cause I got news for you. He lies to you Kali."

"What are you talking about?"

"Derek didn't kill Ennis. He was alive when Deucalion went into that room. Deucalion killed him."

"You lie!" Kali snaps baring her fangs as Tahlia struggles to her feet. "Listen to my heartbeat." The she-wolf does as asked as Tahlia repeats the words slowly. "Deucalion killed Ennis."

Kali is awe-stricken as Tahlia's heart stay perfectly still. She stumbles backwards before taking off back down the hallway. Tahlia slides down the wall, her vision blurry as her body weakens.

 

* * *

 

Up on the roof Deucalion releases the switch for the power, turning to Melissa. "Thank you. That was more than helpful."

"What now? What do you want with me?"

"You ? You're my gesture of goodwill."

"What?"

"Go find your son." She slips around him and rushes for the door. "Do yourself a favor, Melissa. Be careful out there."

 

* * *

 

Inside the ambulance Stiles realizes that Cora isn't breathing. He starts panicking but calms himself down realizing he has to save her. "Okay, come on. You can do this. Tilt the head. Fingers on the chin. Clear the throat. Great nothing. I see nothing. Okay, just pinch the nose and blow."

He starts blowing into her mouth, stopping after a few times to check her heart.

 

* * *

 

Derek opens the doors of the elevator, they will only open about a foot. He moves back looking up at the ceiling, Jennifer notices what he's looking at.

"If you're thinking service hatch, they bolt from the outside, so you'd have to break it. All you'd end up doing is creating a lot of noise, telling them exactly where we are."

"Kali already knows."

"Not necessarily. She saw that we got in, but she might not know that we didn't get out."

"Yeah, well, if I get through, then we can go to another floor."

"Or you'd end up fighting them alone in an elevator shaft. They'll rip my head off before you even have a chance to land a punch."

"Then someone needs to get the back up generator running again." He states pulling out his phone.

 

* * *

 

Inside the ambulance Stiles is still working to get Cora's heart started. "Oh, come, Cora. (breath) Come on, breathe. (breath) Come on, Cora, breathe."

One last breath later Cora gasps, coughing. Stiles sits back with a relieved sigh and a laugh. "You know, next time I put my lips to your mouth, you better be awake."

 

* * *

 

Elsewhere in the hospital Peter trips sliding into the wall, Scott rounds the same corner helping him to his feet. "That shot didn't last very long."

They rush down the hall, Scott kicks open a door and moves them inside. Peter leans against a rack inside the storage room. "Those twins are really starting to piss me off."

"How the hell are we supposed to get past them?"

"Personally, I think if we keep letting them beat the living crap out of us, they'll tire and give up."

Scott's attention is enraptured by something behind Peter, the former Alpha turns to see a door marked laundry shoot. Peter goes first landing in the cart at the bottom. Before he can get up he's pummeled by Scott. He shoves the teen off of him, "You couldn't have waited, like, ten seconds?"

Scott's phone vibrates, he takes it out of his pocket staring at it. Peter sees the look on his face. "They didn't get out, did they?"

 

* * *

 

"Don't move. On our way." Derek reads.

 

* * *

 

Stiles is talking to Cora, telling her how maybe she was right about them just finding the bodies. He says that Scott will get them out of this, which bugs him because he used to be the one with the plan. He says he doesn't want to find his father's body. He quips how she's a lot easier to talk to when she's completely unconscious.

Suddenly he hears a banging outside the ambulance followed by a growling. He looks out the window seeing the shadow of the giant wolf, he sits back quickly watching as it walks by.

Stiles hears footsteps approaching, he's startled as Scott and Peter appear outside. "Stiles! Open the door."

"Sorry,"

"Help me get him in." Scott says shoving Peter into the ambulance where Stiles sits him down on the seat beside him.

"Where's Derek and Jennifer?"

"We have to go back for them and my mom."

"Okay, two problems. Kali's got the keys to this thing, and I just saw the twins like, 30 seconds ago."

Scot hears a banging in the hallway, he turns to the others. "Stay here." He heads inside slowly making his way down the hall. From behind the giant comes swinging at Scott who ducks out of the way. But the giant grabs him slamming him off the wall, then a rack before dropping him to the floor. They pick Scott up by his neck pinning him against the wall.

"Where is she? We're trying not to hurt you."

"Try harder," Scott chokes out.

"Hey!" The giant drops Scott to the floor, turning towards the voice. "I'd like to try something." Melissa stands with the defibrillator pads in hand, she shoves them into the giant abdomen shocking the hell out of him. The giant splits back into the twins as they fall back onto the floor. "Sweetheart, get up!" She holds out her hand to Scott who takes it and the two run down the opposite hallway.

 

* * *

 

"Anything?" Jennifer asks as she stands behind Derek who is staring at his phone. "Derek, I know what you're thinking— that I'm using you. That everything that has happened between us is a lie, or that I'm evil. A bitch. But I hope you're not thinking the most superficial thought… "Is that her real face? The slashed, mutilated face revealed by the mistletoe… Is that what she really looks like?" Julia Baccari. That was my name."

"I don't care."

"I guess I should have changed it to something with different first letters. I think I read somewhere that people always pick aliases that are subconsciously derivative of their original name. It's a way of not completely letting go of your identity, since your name is so tied to your sense of self. Do you know what else is? Your face. The one that's supposed to be staring back at you in the mirror. Not some hacked up atrocity you can't even recognize."

"I still don't care."

"But I bet you're curious. I bet you wonder exactly what happened."

Derek turns his head looking at Jennifer for the first time. "You were an emissary. They tried killing you along with the rest of the pack. Mystery solved."

"I was Kali's emissary. And I was the one she couldn't kill. For years, the Nemeton's power was virtually gone, like the dying ember of a burned out fire. But a few months earlier, something happened, that caused that ember to glow a little brighter. Something that gave it a spark of power again. The sacrifice of a virgin. You didn't know what you were doing back then, but killing Paige in the root cellar, sacrificing her there, gave power to the Nemeton."

Derek stood leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. His jaw set in anger as he realizes that he gave Jennifer the power to attack them all now.

"You gave it power again. You gave me power. Just enough to hold on to life a little longer. Long enough to be found."

 

* * *

 

Scott and Melissa moves quickly through the hospital. "He just let me go, said it was a gesture of goodwill. No other reason."

"He had to have a reason. I don't think he does anything without a reason."

"Well, if that means I should continue to be profoundly terrified, then don't worry about it. I got that covered."

Scott stops his mom, from around the corner he hears a gun click. He slowly rounds the corner the two coming face to face with Chris's gun. The hunter takes a breath lowering the gun, behind him stand Allison and Isaac.

 

* * *

 

"You know Mistletoe is important to Druids, but do you know the myth of why people kiss under Mistletoe?"

"No."

"It's a Norse myth. Baldur, the Son of Odin, was the most beloved by the other Gods, so much that they wanted to protect him from all the dangers in the world. His mother, Frigg, took an oath from fire and water, metal, stone, and every living thing, that they would never hurt Baldur. At a gathering, they tested him. Stones, arrows, and flame were all hurled at him. Nothing worked. But there was one God who wasn't so enamored of Baldur. The God of Mischief, Loki. Loki discovered that Frigg had forgotten to ask Mistletoe, a tiny, seemingly harmless plant. And completely overlooked. Loki fashioned a dart out of Mistletoe, and it killed Baldur. Frigg was heartbroken. She decreed that Mistletoe would never again be used as a weapon and that she would place a kiss on anyone who passed under it. So now we hang Mistletoe underneath our door during the holidays… So that we will never overlook it again. We were the overlooked… The Emissary's. It was a mistake Deucalion and the Alphas should never have made, because I made an oath of my own. From Virgins and Warriors, from Healers, Philosophers, and Guardians, to loan me their power so that I could teach these monsters that their monstrous actions would never be overlooked."

"You killed innocent people."

"So have you. I know the real color of your eyes, Derek. And I know what it means. I'm not asking you to save just my life. I'm asking you to save everyone they'll ever hurt again."

"You can't beat 'em."

"Are you sure about that? Boyd asked you right before he died, what happens to a werewolf during a Lunar Eclipse? You didn't get the chance to tell him, but you know, don't you? What happens, Derek? During the total Lunar Eclipse?"

"We lose all our power."

 

* * *

 

"So then they're essentially trapped?" Chris says walking into an exam room with the others.

"Yeah, right."

"There's no way of getting them out without turning the power back on." Isaac states.

"Wait, wait, wait, if the power's back on, they're gonna hear the elevator moving, right?" Melissa asks.

"And they'll be on Jennifer and Derek as soon as it stops." Scott says. "We can't get in a fight with them."

"You've got us now."

"It's too much to risk. They want her dead, and if she dies, there's nothing that we can do for Stiles' dad or Cora." Scott reminds him.

"I don't even think I know which teacher this is." Chris wonders, thinking.

"She's— She's the one with the brown hair. She's kind of hot." The group turns and looks at Isaac. "No, it's jus— Just an observation."

Allison looks at her reflection in a nearby mirror. "I've got an idea."

 

* * *

 

Derek gets a text from Scott. 'We have a plan.' He opens the doors to the elevator all the way making sure they bang open. Which attracts the attention of the twins who hear the noise.

 

* * *

 

Isaac sits in the Argent's car downstairs, he clips his phone to the dash and dials Allison, her face pops up on the screen. "You ready?"

"Yeah." His tone is less than convincing.

"You're not nervous, are you?"

"Do I look nervous?"

"No, not at all." Now she's the one with the unconvincing tone as she sets the phone down pointing towards the double doors.

"Did he look nervous?" Isaac hears Chris ask.

"Terrified." Is Allison's response.

"Yeah, I can still hear you, very, very clearly."

Allison's head pops back into the frame, "Just go as soon as you see them, okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I got it."

 

* * *

 

On different floors the twins and Kali hear Jennifer running down the hallway towards the front doors of the hospital. The twins catch up with the woman seeing her running out the front doors. They pass by the phone, Isaac sees them and takes off in the car.

Outside the front of the hospital Kali jumps out of an upper floor window, landing in a crouch on the walkway, the twins running out behind her.

In front of them the woman turns revealing her to be Allison, she picks up her bow firing an arrow at the Alpha's. Kali catches it in her hand, it explodes into a flash, blinding them for a moment. Chris steps out from behind his daughter both guns in hand firing at the Alpha's. Together they drive the Alpha's away, giving Melissa enough time to get up to the roof and flip the power back on.

 

* * *

 

Derek looks around as the lights in the elevator flicker and come back to life. He reaches down and presses the button for the ground floor, the elevator whirrs as it starts moving.

"Derek, please look at me."

The Alpha doesn't turn around but instead looks at her in the elevator doors, the hideous face of the Darach staring back at him. It screeches and the last thing Derek sees is darkness.

 

* * *

 

Isaac pulls up to the back of the ambulance, getting out he hollers to the other two. "All right, come on, come on, come on!"

"I got her." Peter picks Cora up and carries her to the car. "Okay, get the door."

"Stiles, let's go!" Isaac hollers to the teen but something on the side of the door has caught his attention. The release form which says parent or guardian on the bottom.

"Stiles!" Isaac yells as the boy takes off into the hospital.

 

* * *

 

Scott rushes to the elevator where he finds Derek laying on the floor of the car unconscious. "Derek!" He looks up seeing the emergency hatch open. "Mom."

Stiles rushes inside in time to see Scott rushing up to the roof. He takes one look at Derek before following his best friend.

 

* * *

 

"Come on, we gotta go. Drive you idiot." Peter urges the Beta.

"I can't. Not without Scott."

"Come on, you want the Argents dead too? Make a choice! Oh, for the love of God! Go, now!"

"All right!" Isaac backs p baring missing the twins as they come running out of the hospital.

 

* * *

 

Up on the roof Scott rushes out of the door…"Mom! Mom!"

"They're gone." Deucalion steps out from behind the cage. "Guardians, Scott. If you were with me, I could've told you what it meant. I could've warned you. Let me help you, Scott. Let's help each other. You help me catch her, and I'll help you get your mother and Stiles' father back."

Tears fill Scott's eyes as he steps towards Deucalion. Behind him Stiles rushes out onto the roof. "Scott. Scott, don't do this. Don't go with him."

"I don't know what else to do."

"No, there's g— There's got to be something else, okay? We always— We always have a plan B."

Scott sobs turning back to his best friend, "Not this time."

"Scott."

"I'm gonna find your dad. I promise."

"Scott!" Stiles looks on in despair as his brother walks away with the Alpha.

 

* * *

 

Melissa wakes up finding her hands and feet bound in front of her while the rest of the rope runs around her torso biding her to the post behind her.

"Hey. Hey." She looks in front of her to find Stilinski bound in the same way. "You all right?"

She nods, "Oh, God, where are we?"

"I don't know. Looks like a root cellar to me, but, uh, she called it something different. She called it a Nemeton."


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer - I do not own Teen Wolf or anything related to it. I only own my original character Tahlia and her family, and anything else that seems out of place.

* * *

 

After Scott leaves with Deucalion, Stiles rushes back downstairs to the elevator. He kneels beside the unconscious Alpha. "Derek!" Smack! "Derek, come on!"

He shakes the man violently by his shirt but nothing. Another slap! Still no response. Stiles balls up his fist prepared to punch Derek when the man awakens grabbing the teen's arm in his grasp. Derek breathes heavily glancing around the elevator.

"Where is she?"

"Jennifer? Gone, with Scott's mom."

"She took her?"

"Yeah. If that's not enough of a kick to the balls, Scott left with Deucalion, okay? So, we gotta get you out of here. The police are coming right now, and we gotta get you the hell out of here."

Stiles takes Derek's hand in his helping the Alpha to his feet. "Whoa? What about Cora?"

 

* * *

 

Chris and Allison make their way through the hospital towards the garage, making sure that the others got out. They notice the blood and disarray that the hallway is in, a fight obviously took place here.

"Hey, a little help."

Chris rushes over moving a gurney out of the way to find Tahlia slumped against the wall. She has a wound on her upper right arm.

"Can you walk?"

"Yeah, I think so."

Her Uncle leans down placing her arm around his neck and lifting her to her feet. She grimaces in pain as they head out towards the parking lot.

 

* * *

 

Outside in the parking lot Isaac brings the car to a stop. "You see the twins?"

In the back Peter turns around looking behind them. "No." His face darkens. "But I see the Argent's."

The hunters come from around the back of an ambulance in front of them. They pause as they hear a distant howl.

"What is it?"

"A retreat." Chris tells his daughter as they head for the car.

"Not to bring up uncomfortable memories, wasn't the last time you saw them the time you killed Kate and then they burned you alive? Hmm?" Isaac turns around to find the door open and no sign of Peter. He gets out of the car as the three hunters approach.

"Where are the others?" Allison asks.

"I don't know." The Beta answers. "Scott and Stiles went back for Derek and Jennifer. I had to get Cora out."

They look up as Derek pulls up in his FJ, getting out he moves straight for the back of their car.

"Where are Scott and Stiles?" Allison yells.

"Stiles is still at the hospital. He's gonna hold off the cops for us." He tells her opening the door and picking up Cora, carrying her back to his car. "We have to go right now."

"What about Scott and Melissa?" Chris asks.

"Jennifer took Melissa." Derek tells them placing Cora in the back of his car. The rest of them take on solemn gazes, they know what this means.

"What about Scott? Derek, where's Scott?" Allison asks urgently.

 

* * *

 

Back at the loft Isaac is pacing the floor while Derek sits at Cora's side. "She's dying, isn't she?"

"I don't know."

"So what are you gonna do?"

"I don't know."

Peter is sitting on the staircase where the two can't see him, he watches as Isaac turns away rubbing his hand over his head, "Want to figure something out? Because while Scott and Stiles were out there trying to help people from being killed, you were in here, rolling around the sheets, with the actual killer. Do you get how many people she's killed? Erica and Boyd are dead, Cora is dying, and you are doing nothing! Why'd you do this to us, Derek? Was it all about the power? Were you bored?" He moves forward leaning down to his Alpha, "Were you lonely?"

Derek grits his teeth, pursing his lips he turns to the Beta, "Maybe."

Isaac stands up and walks around behind the Alpha with his hands in his hair.

"I told Cora I wouldn't leave. I'll help the others when I figure out how to help her."

Isaac is just about to the door when he spins around, his voice booming off the walls. "There's no time!" He steps up to the door, "The full moon's coming. The Sheriff and Melissa are gonna be dead, so I'm gonna try and help them." He pulls open the steel door stepping outside, "You can sit here and perfect the art of doing nothing." The door slams shut behind him.

"I wouldn't take it personally." Peter comments from his place of the stairwell, he stands up descending the stairs as he speaks. "Anger is just a tool. He's using it to excuse shifting allegiance from one Alpha to another. From you to Scott."

"Scott's not an Alpha yet."

"But he's on his way, isn't he?"

 

* * *

 

The group of hunters make their way to the apartment, Chris leads the way inside helping Tahlia into the office and setting her in the chair.

"The word is "guardian," Allison. More than anyone you know that's a role I haven't exactly lived up to lately."

"But she took Scott's mother and Stiles' father. That's not a coincidence."

"Yeah, I'd also consider the fact that someone put your name up in large block letters on the elevator doors. That kind of felt like a warning to me." Stiles reminds the hunter.

"I think it might be Morell." Allison tells them. "She knows a lot more than she lets on, and she might even be trying to help us."

"Well, she needs to get on that a lot faster, okay?" Stiles suggests. "Seeing as that the lunar eclipse is less than two freaking nights away."

"Stiles. Don't give up hope." Tahlia tells the boy as he slumps down in the chair beside her as she cleans and stitches the four claw marks on her arm.

"He could already be dead."

"I don't think so." Chris reveals. "There's something about Jennifer's tactics. It's like she's still positioning, still moving pieces into place."

"And you're one of them." Allison states.

Chris nods, "Then let's not wait around to see her next move." He picks up the map unfolding it onto the desk top. "Everything she's done has been on a telluric current. So Melissa and the Sheriff have to be somewhere on one of those currents, right?"

Tahlia glances down at the teen still slumped beside her, she kneels down in front of him. "Stiles, if we're gonna find them, we need your help."

"So you seriously want to go after her? I mean, what of she just takes you like the others, huh? No offense, but what's the difference between you and them?"

Chris picks up his gun locking a clip into it. "I'm carrying a .45. Maybe she can heal from a shot to the leg and a few slashes to the face, but personally, I'd like to see how she holds up with half her skull blown off. We've got one priority right now, and that is to find Melissa and your dad. We've got a map and every clue we need to figure this out. The only thing we don't have is time. Which is why I need all of you."

Stiles sighs, "Where do we start?"

They all stand around the desk as Chris turns on the black light shining it over the map. "The place where the sacrifices have been committed have usually been different from where the bodies have been found. I think the placement has to do with the strength of the current. So there's the school, the animal clinic, the bank."

"Wait a sec. She wouldn't use the same place twice, would she?" Stiles wonders.

Tahlia looks up, "Only if she didn't succeed the first time."

"Scott's boss." Allison says.

"Deaton. It was her only failure. That could mean something."

"That's just one place so far." Stiles mentions looking at the map. "We're gonna need a lot more help."

"What about Lydia?" Allison asks.

"Lydia?" Chris asks looking up. "What can she do?"

"Uh, Lydia's got sort of a talent. She somehow ended up finding a couple of the bodies, um, without actually looking for them." Stiles tells him.

"Well, what is she? Psychic?"

"She's something."

The trio of hunters lay out every handgun they have between them on the desk top. Allison readies her daggers and her crossbow while Tahlia pulls out her black elite compound bow. Chris meanwhile pulls out his rifle and several large guns. Stiles stands by watching as the trio locks and loads clips, twirls knives around and readies arrows.

"I thought you guys were retired?" Stiles asks earning a smile from Tahlia. "Most of these are mine Stiles. I like my toys."

Chris smirks, "Retired, yes. Defenseless, no. Now, make sure your phone's on. If you hear from Scott, you let us know immediately."

Stiles pulls out his phone looking at the display. "Yeah, I'm thinking that's gonna be kind of unlikely."

Chris glances between the two teens. "Both of you, try to remember he's just doing what he thinks is right."

The floor behind them creaks and the group turns to find Isaac in the doorway. "I can't shoot a gun or use a crossbow, but… Well, I'm getting pretty good with these." He flicks out the claws on his left hand holding them up.

 

* * *

 

Tahlia waits in the truck after strict orders from her Uncle, she wasn't at 100% with her injury and he wanted her to stay out of harm's way.

Inside the bank Allison and Isaac follow Chris inside the vault, the hunter snaps out his cattle prod holding it out to his side.

"I thought you only used those on werewolves." Isaac asks eyeing the pulsing blue light.

"I do." He turns zapping Isaac in the stomach bringing the Beta to the floor as Allison gasps. Isaac drops to the floor his body convulsing as Chris snaps a pair of handcuffs onto Allison, cuffing her to the bars beside them.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm sorry. But you're just gonna have to trust me on this." Chris turns pulling out his .45. "I knew for a long time she didn't just operate on the currents. She was in sync with them." A faint whirring comes from outside the vault and Chris drops his gun as the three of them look to the door where Jennifer steps through a smile on his face.

"Now, this is a sacrifice."

 

* * *

 

Isaac snaps the rings holding the cuffs together, Allison steps away from the bars, the cuff still around her wrist.

"Why did he do that?" She asks her voice small.

"I don't know. We need to go, okay? We need help." She grabs hold of his wrist holding it tight. "Allison? Allison, we have to go."

She looks up at him defeat in her eyes. "They're all gonna die. Aren't they?" Isaac pulls her in close as she sobs.

 

* * *

 

Chris comes to, he's bleeding from a gash on his head. He looks around finding the Sheriff and Melissa tied up around him. He let's out a small chuckle as he finds his haphazard plan is working, more so as he looks around he realizes he knows right where they are.

"Is it just me or has someone been here before?" Stilinski asks.

"Years ago." Chris says moving his feet up under him reaching for something.

"Hate to disappoint you, but we watched her take your ankle knife." Stilinski informs him.

Chris sighs twisting himself around again, only it's Melissa who bursts his bubble this time. "And the knife that's in your sleeve."

Before Chris can move, Stilinski speaks again. "And the switchblade in your other sleeve."

Chris jerks against the ropes, grunting and tugging. The doors above them open revealing Jennifer. "And the Taser in your jacket pocket." She slowly descends the steps into the Nemeton. "Argent. The French word for "silver."

She kneels down in front of him a cloth in her hand, she raises it to his head but he jerks away. She takes his chin in her hand and tilts it back towards her. "Ah, ah, ah." She holds his face still as she wipes away the blood. "Interesting how truth becomes altered by legend. When it's not actually the metal silver that kills werewolves, but the family. What's the Argent code again? "We hunt those who hunt us"? I hope you don't mind if I borrow it for a little while, since I've been hunted myself."

Don't pretend like we have the same cause." Chris snaps. "I don't kill innocent people."

"That's why they call it a sacrifice." Jennifer reiterates, jeez why doesn't anybody get that. "And I wish it worked another way. But think about what you're doing. You are making this town, even this world, safer for your children. Well… " She chuckles looking over at Melissa, "…most of them."

 

* * *

 

Stiles meanwhile is having a horrible panic attack at school. Lydia takes him into the locker room, trying to calm him down but nothing seems to be working. So with only a few options, she kisses him. Which works as he holds his breath, which stops the attack. She tells him that he should sign up for a few sessions with the guidance counselor.

The two of them rush to Morell's office opening the door to find her absent from her desk. A student sits in the chair by the door. After speaking with her they find that Ms. Morell is twenty minutes late, and according to Lydia, she is never late. The two of them realize that she is missing, they wonder if they are the only ones who think she knows something.

Lydia and Stiles go through the files looking to find what Morell knows. Lydia opens her file and shuffles through the papers. Stiles sees the drawing Lydia made of the tree, he mentions that he always sees her drawing the exact same tree in class.

Lydia tells him she likes drawing trees. Stiles grabs her notebook out of her bag. Turning through the pages they realizes that every tree she has drawn looks the exact same. Lydia starts freaking out as Stiles flips through page after page of the drawing. He pauses as he comes across one at the bottom of the page. He turns the book upside-down, something dawns across his face.

"I know where they are."

The two step out of the office, ahead of them stands Rafael, Scott's father. He hollers for Stiles, the teen sighs turning to Lydia telling her to go to Derek and Peter, they've been there before, they'll know where it is.

After a lengthy conversation with Rafael about absolutely nothing useful, Deaton arrives and takes Stiles with him.

 

* * *

 

Lydia meanwhile shows up at the loft, knocking, the door is opened by Peter. Realization dawns on Lydia's face as she stares at the wolf. "You."

"Me." Looking slightly worried.

"You."

Peter sighs. "Me. Derek! We have a visitor."

 

* * *

 

Out in the woods the Alpha pack has caught up with Morell. She tosses up a ring of Mountain Ash to protect herself as Deucalion and the pack surrounds her along with Scott.

"How did you know, Marin, that we'd come for you?"

"Because Jennifer and I are the same. And I know you've always been suspicious of us, of what we can do."

"With good reason." Kali steps around in front of Marin. "We know you sent that girl— The one who helped Isaac."

"What was her name?" Deucalion asks.

"Braeden. And I sent her to do what I've always done— Maintain balance."

"What do you know about Jennifer?" Kali demands.

"Nothing more than you know." She turns her gaze to the Beta. "This isn't you, Scott. Go back to your friends."

Deucalion points to him with his cane, "He can decide what's right for himself."

"Not without all the information. Have you told them everything you've done? How you've piled up bodies in a narcissistically psychotic effort to form your perfect pack." She turns to Kali giving her a pointed look. "Bodies that include Ennis, by the way. My brother saved him. He was alive when Deucalion went in to see him. He wants you to go after Derek, Kali, to force his decision. If Derek joins the pack, it paves the way for Scott and Rayne."

"The lies people will tell when they're begging for their life."

Marin smirks at Kali, "Ask him."

In one swift movement Deucalion's cane sails through the air stabbing into Marin's chest, she steps outside of the circle breaking it with her heel. Scott rushes to her side as the pack converges on her. "Hey! Back off."

Scott pulls the cane out of Marin's chest. "I'm not going to let them kill you. But if you know something, if you know where they are—"

"The Nemeton— You find that, you'll find Jennifer. Find the Nemeton."

 

* * *

 

Back in the Nemeton Chris is struggling, finding anyway to loosen the ropes. Melissa turns to him, "I don't wanna kill your optimism or anything, but, you know, the both of us have been trying to do the exact same thing for hours."

"You've been tied up before?" Stilinski asks.

Chris exhales from his effort. "Many times."

"What, is that part of being a werewolf hunter?"

Chris pauses his head snapping up to meet the Sheriff's face, then he moves to Melissa who smiles with a shrug. "I tried to download him on as much as I could."

"Yeah, I was starting to feel a little bit left out."

"You knew." Chris says flatly. "I remember meeting you once before you were Sheriff. You questioned me about a body. You knew something was up. You just weren't ready to believe it."

"You're right. There was a night, eight years ago. The night my wife died. I was at the end of a shift, and a call came in. There'd been a pileup, and a young woman, she was a teenager, actually, she was trapped under an overturned car. We had to wait for the paramedics. We were never getting her out. But I was able to hold her hand. She knew she was going to die. I just kept telling her, "No, no. Listen, the paramedics are on their way." And I remember her hand suddenly gripped mine so tightly that I… I literally thought she was gonna break the bones. And she looked me in the eye and she said, "If you wanna be with her, go now." And I knew she was talking about my wife. But then that other part of my brain, the part that looks for clues, for fingerprints, for logical connections, that part told me that there is no way that this girl could possibly know about Claudia. And so I stayed. I stayed until the paramedics pulled her out. Till her heart stopped beating and they declared her dead. When I finally got to the hospital, I saw Stiles sitting in the waiting room, with his head in his hands. He was with Claudia when she died. But I wasn't. I wasn't with her because I didn't believe. I just did not believe."

 

* * *

 

Inside the Vet's office Stiles, Lydia, Isaac, Allison, Tahlia and Deaton stand around the exam room. Stiles is leaning on the table trying to figure this all out. "It has to be on a telluric current, or maybe even at the axis of two, or where they all intersect. I just know it's where Derek took Paige to die."

"My dad and Gerard were there before. But Gerard said it was years ago and he couldn't remember where it was. And my dad obviously isn't here to tell us now."

"That son-of-a-bitch is still alive?!" Tahlia snapped looking up at her cousin. She sighed, "Guess I've got some unfinished business when we're done here."

"Yeah, mine either." Stiles says referring to his father.

"So how do we find this place?" Isaac asks the question they are all wondering.

"There might be a way." Deaton tells them. "But it's dangerous. We're gonna need Scott."

 

* * *

 

Out in the woods Stiles and Deaton meet up with Scott. "How did you guys find out?"

"Lydia," Stiles tells him. "You?"

"Morell. None of the other Alpha's know where it is either."

"So if this works, are you gonna tell them?"

"I can't stop Jennifer without them."

Deaton breaks the tension, "How about we concentrate on finding your parents first?"

"What's the plan?"

"Essentially, you, Allison, and Stiles need to be surrogate sacrifices for your parents."

"We die for them?" Scott asks the disbelief written on his face.

"But he can bring us back," Stiles nods his head towards Deaton. "You can— You can bring us back, right?"

"You remember the part where I said it was dangerous? If it goes right the three of you will be dead for a few seconds, but there's something else you need to think about. This is a dangerous thing for more reasons than one. You'll be giving power back to the Nemeton, a place that hasn't had power for a long time. This kind of power is like a magnet. It attracts the supernatural, the kind of things that a family like the Argents can fill the pages of a Beastiary with. It will draw them here, like a beacon."

"That doesn't sound any worse than anything we've already seen."

Deaton turns his head towards Stiles, "You'd be surprised at what you have yet to see."

"Is that it?" Even as he asks, Scott knows there is something Deaton is hesitant in telling them.

"No. It will also have an effect on the three of you. You won't be able to see it, but you'll feel it every day for the rest of your lives. It'll be a kind of a darkness around your heart, and permanent, like a scar."

"Like a tattoo." Scott concludes.

 

* * *

 

Back in the cellar Chris finally manages to grab hold of the small emitter that Tahlia hid on him.

"What is that?" Melissa asks.

"Ultrasonic emitter. A smaller version of what we use to corral werewolves. Only they hear it. Most of the time we use it to push them away. Let's see if it works to attract them." Chris presses the button and sits in wait hoping one of the pack can hear it.

 

* * *

 

Deaton looks up to the three teenagers inside the exam room, "All right. What did you bring?"

"Um, I got my dad's badge. Jennifer kind of crushed it in her hand, so I tried hammering it out a bit. Still doesn't look great."

"It doesn't need to look good if it has meaning."

Isaac looks down at the object in Allison's hand, "Is that an actual silver bullet?"

"My dad made it. As kind of a ceremonial thing. When one of us finishes learning all the skills to be a hunter, we forge a silver bullet as a testament to the code."

"Scott?"

The Beta's head whips up to look at his mentor. "My dad got my mom this watch when she first got hired at the hospital. She used to say it was the only thing in her marriage that ever worked."

Deaton talks them through what will happen. "Okay, the three of you will get in. Each of us will hold you down until you're essentially… Well, dead. But it's not just someone to hold you under. It needs to be someone who can pull you back, someone that has a strong connection to you, a kind of emotional tether."

Lydia moves towards Allison but Deaton stops her, "Lydia… You go with Stiles."

"Are you sure? I mean, Scott and I both have to go under." Allison sees the look on Deaton's face, she realizes Scott is not her tether as her eyes move to Isaac.

"It's okay." He steps past Allison, the hurt showing through on his face.

The three teens strip down to minimal clothing and approach the troughs, each holding the object from their parent. The three step in exhaling from the sudden freezing water as they sit down. Stiles is shivering and stuttering as he turns to his brother. "By the way, if I don't make it back and you do, you should probably know something. Your dad's in town."

Scott's breath becomes shallow at this revelation. And at that moment his father is sitting on Scott's bed holding a picture of his son.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer - I do not own Teen Wolf or anything related to it. I only own my original character Tahlia and her family, and anything else that seems out of place.
> 
> So this is the final chapter of Alpha Pack, I have the next two stories in the series in the works, one will be an AU fic called Blood Moon, and the other will continue following the storyline of season 3b with the Nogitsune.

* * *

 

 

Derek is stroking Cora's hair from her forehead, steeling himself for what he is about to do. He takes Cora's hand in his, holding her arm with his other. He breaths deeply as he absorbs every ounce of pain her body has to offer. Cora's eyes jolt open staring at Derek before she throws her head back onto the pillows. Derek roars his head thrown back as his eyes suddenly go from a burning Alpha red, back to a cold steel blue.

 

* * *

 

Deaton stands at the front of the room watching as Isaac, Lydia and Deaton place their hands on the teens shoulders. The three each take a big breath as they are pushed down into the water. Seconds later Scott's eyes snap open, his Beta yellow staring up.

Tahlia stands by watching the three teens still underwater. It had been several hours since they had gone under. She was worried about Cora so after making sure that they would call her with the news when the kids awoke she headed towards the loft.

 

* * *

 

She found Derek lying on the floor and rushed to his side. "Derek?" She turned shocked to see Cora sitting up in bed, like nothing had ever been wrong with her. "Cora." The huntress smiled returning the hug that the girl bestowed on her. "I'm glad you're okay."

The two kneel down beside Derek, Cora holding a bottle of water in her hand holding it up to her brother's lips. Tahlia softly calls to the wolf not wanting to startle him. "Derek. Derek, wake up."

His eyes open slowly and he looks over at Cora. "You're okay."

She smiles, "I'm doing much better than you are right now, and all because of you."

"Hopefully not all for nothing. The moon is rising, Derek. You drained your battery all the way to the red, and there is a fully charged Alpha on her way to rip you limb from limb."

"I'll be fine in a few hours."

"I sincerely hope so, because a few hours is all that you have."

Tahlia gets a call from Scott, whose voice is a welcomed sound. He tells her that they can find the Nemeton. She states that she's going to stay with Derek for a couple hours, relaying what he did for Cora. Scott agrees and lets her in on his plan.

 

* * *

 

After Scott hangs up Stiles starts in on him. "No, dude. You are not going back with them."

"I made a deal with Deucalion."

"Does anyone else think that sounds a lot like a deal with the devil?"

"Why does it matter anyway?" Isaac asks his friend.

"Because I still don't think that we can beat Jennifer without their help."

Allison looks to Deaton. "He trusts you more than anyone. Tell him he's wrong."

"I'm not so sure he is. Circumstances like this sometimes require that you align yourself with people you'd normally consider enemies."

"So we're gonna trust him, the guy that calls himself "death, destroyer of worlds"? We're gonna trust that guy?" Isaac says.

"I wouldn't trust him, no." Deaton states. "But you could use him to your advantage. Deucalion may be the enemy, but he could also be the bait."

The group looks around considering the pros and cons. They hear the bell of the front door chime and Deaton steps out to find Ethan standing in the lobby. "I'm looking for Lydia."

Lydia steps out of the back room followed by Scott. "What do you want?"

"I need your help."

"With what?" Stiles questions leaning on the wall beside Lydia.

"Stopping my brother and Kali… from killing Derek."

 

* * *

 

Inside the Nemeton the three guardians sit, hoping that someone comes to find them soon. Chris looks down at the emitter drawing a concerned look from Melissa. "Still working?"

He nods. "But not for much longer."

"Anyone else feeling and unbearable itch they can't scratch?" She asks.

"Well, not before you said something, but now, yes, I do." Stilinski replies and the two share a laugh before Melissa begins to worry. "Is she actually gonna come down here and slash all of our throats?"

"Nah." Stilinski shakes his head. "She'll come down and strangle us with a garrote and then slash our throats."

The group hears clattering coming from above, the other two look to Chris. "It's just the wind." The ground and cellar begin shaking with the gale force winds from outside.

 

* * *

 

Ethan stands in the loft with Lydia in front of Derek, Peter, Tahlia and Cora, pleading his case.

"We know about the Lunar Eclipse, so don't think Kali's gonna sit around waiting for it to level the playing field. She's coming, and my brother's coming with her."

Peter nods his head, "Good enough for me. Derek?"

"You want me to run?" Derek states with his arms crossed defiantly over his chest.

Peter steps forward sarcasm flowing through his words. "No. I want you to stay and get slaughtered by an Alpha with a psychotic foot fetish. Of course I want you to run. Sprint, gallop, leap your way the hell out of this town."

Cora's voice reaches them, "If you want to fight and die for something, that's fine with me, but do it for something meaningful."

"How do you know I'm gonna lose?"

"We don't, but I'll bet she has an idea." Peter's head swivels to the side. "Don't you, Lydia?"

"I don't know anything."

"But you feel something, don't you?"

"What do you feel?" Derek wants to know.

"I feel like… I'm standing in a graveyard."

 

* * *

 

Tahlia gets a call from Scott saying they need her help, she immediately heads back to the apartment, arriving just as Scott, Alli and Isaac. Scott is on the phone with Stiles, "Just grab anything. Stiles, I'm not smelling your dad's boxers. Socks? Okay, I'll smell the socks."

He hangs up as they enter the apartment, Isaac looks to the two women. "What about me?"

"See what you can find in my dad's closet. Anything with a strong scent." Allison says opening the door to the office where she pauses with Tahlia right behind her. "Shit." Tahlia whispers seeing Agent McCall sitting behind her Uncle's desk with two officers.

He motions to the desk top full of weapons. "Quite an arsenal your father's got here, young lady."

"Actually, most of those are mine." Tahlia states stepping in front of Alli.

"Well, how about we add those to the pile." He says referring to the two Glocks in her thigh holsters. Tahlia sighs taking them out slowly and setting them on the desk.

Scott steps into the room behind the two taking his father's attention away from the girls. Agent McCall stands up as he sees his son. "Scott?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Following one of the only leads I have. Now, since I don't know where you've been, why don't you have a seat? We can talk." He pauses for a moment. "You two, Isaac."

The Beta steps into the doorway beside Scott. "How do you know my name?"

"Your name is one of the few things I know. To be honest, the rest of what's going on around here has me stumbling around in the dark, even over the smallest clue."

Scott steps up in front of the others. "If you're trying to tell me that you don't have a clue, I learned that a long time ago."

"I'm really hoping to avoid the embarrassment of dragging my own son into an interrogation room. Really hoping."

 

* * *

 

The others manage to get Derek and Cora out of the loft in the nick of time, as the alarm starts blaring and Kali rips it from the wall.

"Where is he?" Kali asks Ethan and Lydia who stand in front of the desk.

Lydia snaps her fingers turning to Ethan. "I think he said he was heading out to do some shopping, run a few errands. The usual werewolf afternoon."

"Who do you think you're talking to?"

"Someone in desperate need of a pedicure. I'd be happy to give you a referral."

Kali growls at Lydia advancing on her, but pauses as a louder growl comes from behind. The she-wolf turns towards Aiden. "Oh, really?"

 

* * *

 

Downstairs in the parking lot Derek gets into the FJ, Cora beside him in the passenger seat. Peter leans in the open passenger window. "Don't call until you're at least 100 miles away. Go!" The two wolves stand back watching as the glow of taillights fade into the darkness.

 

* * *

 

Back in the Argent's apartment Rafael is still grilling the three teens and managing to irritate the huntress who is currently pacing the floor behind them. She receives a text and pulls her phone out of her pocket.

**'We're leaving. I'll call you when it's safe. Please, be careful. Derek'**

"Damnit!" Tahlia slams her fist into the wall, then striding over she slams her hands down on the desk. "I don't have time for this shit, so either you charge us with something, or you let us the hell go!"

The two officers pull their guns on Tahlia pointing them at her. "Sit down. Now." Tahlia does as asked even though she could easily take on all three cops, but she doesn't want to give the trigger happy cops a reason to fire or drag them all into jail.

Rafael sits back down with a sigh. "I'm not gonna lie. I'm more than a little disturbed, not only by the number of missing parents, but the fact that it's Stiles' father, your father and your mother."

Isaac holds up his hand. "Mine are both dead." He smirks popping a breath mint.

"Save the clichéd teenage apathy for your high school teachers. The four of you know more than you're saying, and I'm fully willing to keep you here all night if I have to."

 

* * *

 

"Did someone take their little assignment too seriously?" Kali asks as she circles around Aiden who sighs. "She's not the problem."

"Maybe the problem is where your loyalties lie."

"Oh, God!" Lydia's face pales. "Is this about to get really violent?"

"Probably." Ethan says.

Suddenly a figure crashes through the glass ceiling above, landing in a crouch on the floor below. It's Jennifer. She stands up staring at Kali and Aiden. "So, who wants to go first?"

Kali bares her fangs, she swipes at Jennifer but misses as the woman ducks. She then kicks out at Jennifer, missing twice until the woman hits the she-wolf with a powerful push of magic sending her across the floor.

Aiden growls approaching Jennifer from behind, she whips around dodging his swipe. She hits him in the chest sending him backwards across the floor.

Ethan stands up unzipping his shirt and taking it off, while Aiden rips his off. The two roar standing side by side, they grasp arms preparing to form the giant when Jennifer walks across the floor towards them. She grasps both wolves by the neck, tearing them back apart and tossing them to opposite side of the room.

Kali stands up, flipping past Jennifer, they both stand facing one another. "That's right, Kali. Look at me. Look at my face. Do you know what it takes to be able to look like this? To be able to look normal?"

"I don't care."

"It takes power. Power like this." Jennifer raises her arms out to her sides drawing a flurry of air that swirls around her. The glass shards from the floor rise circling around Jennifer, as a massive storm flurries overhead.

Kali watches in horror, stuttering through her words. "I… I should've…" The shards turn, every one pointing at Kali. "I should've ripped your head off!"

Jennifer screams, the shards race forwards impaling the she-wolf, killing her instantly. Kali's limp body falls to the floor, her blood pooling around her. Jennifer turns to Lydia who stands stricken by the desk, but something catches the red-head's attention.

Jennifer turns around to find the twins combined into the giant standing behind her growling. The wolf approaches her slashing out with it's right hand. But Jennifer ducks coming up behind the giant and easily snapping its neck. The wolf falls to the floor, blood seeping from its mouth as Lydia looks on in horror, breathing heavily.

"What's the line Coach likes to say? The bigger they are…" Jennifer smirks.

 

* * *

 

"You can't keep us here." Scott says slowly.

"Not without some kind of warrant." Allison adds.

"I've got a desk full of probably cause."

Allison stands up, "My father is a highly respected private security consultant and federally-licensed firearms dealer. That means he has to own a few weapons. Like this 175-pound draw tactical crossbow. Or this carbon steel Marine combat knife. Fifty AE Desert Eagle." She hums before picking up a canister. "Smoke grenade with pull-ring igniter."

She pulls the pin tossing it towards the officers who begin coughing as the room fills with smoke. The teens get up rushing out of the room followed by Tahlia who grabs her Glocks before following them out.

 

* * *

 

Out in the woods Stiles is driving his Jeep, when he notices the massive storm overhead. The winds are blowing so harshly that they're covering everything in a thick cloud of dust. Stiles can't see anything over a foot in front of his Jeep. He panics as a branch smacks into his windshield, just before he runs straight into a tree.

 

* * *

 

Jennifer approaches Lydia backing her up into a beam. "What do you want from me?"

"I want you to do what you do best, Lydia. I want you to scream." Jennifer then transforms into the Darach, drawing a massive scream from Lydia.

 

* * *

 

Inside the FJ several miles away Derek pulls the car over as he hears a distant scream. Cora looks at him, "What the hell was that?"

"Lydia. We have to go back."

 

* * *

 

The three teens and Tahlia head out into the woods, getting out of their vehicles Alli turns to Scott. "You okay?"

"I didn't know what to say to him. I couldn't come up with anything. But what you did, that was awesome."

"Yes it was. Nice thinking Alli." Tahlia smiles at her cousin, who smiles back.

Isaac steps up to them. "I still haven't gotten anything from Stiles. You?"

Scott shakes his head. "I don't get it."

"Well, we can't wait for him. Come on." Isaac says leading the way to the cliff.

"Cutting it a little close, aren't we, Scott?" Deucalion says approaching the trio.

"We got a little delayed. Where are the others?"

"Occupying themselves with other pursuits."

"So it's just you and me against her?"

"I think you'll be surprised what a good team we make. And we have the huntress to back us up."

Tahlia nods to Scott who then turns to Isaac. "Okay, get Stiles, and then get to the root cellar, okay. We'll keep Jennifer away long enough for you to get them out of there."

"How are you gonna do that?"

"I have a plan."

 

* * *

 

Derek shows back up at the loft to find Kali dead, her body embedded with shards of glass. The twins on the floor by the desk, dead as well. As Cora comforts Lydia, Derek turns to Jennifer. "You did this for me?"

"For us. For anyone who's ever been their victim."

"Stop talking to me like a politician. Stop trying to convince me of your cause!"

"Fine, I'll convince you of someone else's. Scott. You can save his mother, Stiles' father."

"How?"

"I need a Guardian. That's a role that can either be filled by the three parents I was forced to take, or by you."

"I can't help you. I'm not even an Alpha anymore."

"All I need is for you to help me get Deucalion in the right place at the right time."

"You just killed three of 'em on your own. What do you need me for?"

"You haven't seen him at his strongest. I have. And if he's got Scott with him, I don't stand a chance. Unless I have you."

"Derek, don't trust her." Cora warns.

"I have the Eclipse in my favor, but the moon's only gonna be in the Earth's umbral shadow for 15 minutes. That's the extent of my window. There's no decision to struggle with. Help me kill him, and the others live. Just help me."

 

* * *

 

"Are you sure we're going in the right direction?" Isaac asks as he and Allison trek through the forest.

"I know we're near it. Do you think you can pick up a scent?"

"I'm trying, but I can't…" He stops mid-stride, Allison notices and stops as well. "I hear something. It's an emitter. It's one of your dad's."

"Are you sure?"

"It has to be. Come on."

The two of them rush towards the sound, Isaac leading the way. Allison gasps as she sees the giant tree stump come into view.

"Allison."

The huntress looks up at Isaac who seems to be fixated on something in front of them on the other side of the Nemeton. They see a set of doors set in the ground and rush over to them. They pull them open and step down inside. Above them the ground around the Nemeton begins to collapse.

Inside Chris smiles as Allison comes down the stairs and kneels in front of him. "Thank God!" She whispers kissing his forehead.

"You found us."

"Where's Stiles? Where's my son?" Stilinski asks as Isaac releases him.

"And Scott?"

"They're coming, all right? They're on their way to help."

Suddenly the roof begins to give way, soil starts rushing into the cellar.

 

* * *

 

After Derek and Jennifer had left, Cora helps Lydia to her feet. "We have to get going. Lydia, we can get help."

"From who?"

"I don't know, but we can't stay here."

They hear a soft cracking behind them, they turn to find the giant separated into the twins again. They rush over kneeling down beside the boys. Cora is in shock, "They're alive."

 

* * *

 

Back in the forest Scott and Deucalion come back to the place where this all started years ago, the abandoned distillery. As they stand in the doorway the storm raging behind them, Deucalion turns to Scott. "You said you had a plan."

"On the first day of class, Jennifer sent all of us a message. It was the last line from Joseph Conrad's _Heart of Darkness_. I got a message of my own to send to her." Scott hold up his phone, the camera facing him.

 

* * *

 

Jennifer lifts her phone as she receives a message, Derek stands beside her looking over her shoulder. "You see this symbol?" They show the spiral on the wall of the distillery. "It's a symbol of revenge." The camera moves in on Scott, "You talk about balance, about saving people. We know what you really want, and now you know where to find us."

 

* * *

 

Isaac and Allison get the parents free as the ground starts to collapse. The group heads for the stairs but just as they reach the bottom step, the staircase collapses.

 

* * *

 

Cora and Lydia rush the two wolves to Deaton's clinic. The vet rushes out, picking up the wolves and carrying them inside the clinic. They're pouring blood from their mouths.

"Can you save them?" Cora asks.

"Only if they start healing on their own."

 

* * *

 

Scott and Deucalion stand inside the warehouse, they see Jennifer's silhouette walking through the dust, but it breaks into two people as they step through the doors.

Scott shakes his head at Derek, "What are you doing?"

"This might be hard to believe, but, I'm actually trying to help you."

"Ooh, like brother against brother. How very American this is." Deucalion quips before folding up his cane and taking off his jacket. "Are you ready Jennifer? Hmm? Did you gather your herbs, pray to your ancient Gods and your oak trees, slit a baby's throat, perhaps? Should we show them why you needed to sacrifice nine innocent people just to face me?" His face starts shifting slowly no bones breaking, just transforming. "Or is it 12 now?" As his eyes glow an intense red like that of a robot, even Jennifer looks scared.

 

* * *

 

Chris looks up, the staircase is completely blocked, he looks over to Isaac. "It's blocked. What do you see? Anything?"

The Beta shakes his head as the others look on in despair. Suddenly the wall starts to collapse, Chris yells at the group. "Look out!"

Isaac sees the roof beams starting to collapse, he stands up pushing up against the cracking beams, his eyes glowing yellow as his wolf comes to the surface.

 

* * *

 

Derek shifts charging Deucalion, he swipes with his right hand, the Alpha grabs it, then grabs the left as the Beta swipes again. He bends Derek's arms down, Jennifer takes this as her opportunity and walks up shoving her hand at Deucalion's chest. Jennifer is puzzled when nothing happens. Deucalion grabs both of them by their throats lifting them into the air.

He drops Jennifer to the floor on her back, when he drops Derek the Beta stands, swiping his right arm towards the Alpha, Deucalion blocks it and knocks Derek across the room. He lands hard on a pile of tires and falls to the floor. Jennifer stands up rushing the Alpha but he punches her in the face and drops her to her back.

Scott looks over at Derek as he pushes himself up onto his elbows. Their eyes move to Deucalion as he picks up Jennifer by the back of her neck and shoves her to her knees in front of Scott. "Kill her. Do it." Scott refuses to move so Deucalion roars loudly dropping Scott to his hands and knees, he looks up fully shifted.

"Now kill her. Your parents are dying. That storm you hear? She's burying them alive. It's her connection to the telluric currents. Kill her and it ends."

"It won't end. Not with me. He'll have you kill everyone you love. It's what he does."

"They're dying, Scott. Your mother, and the parents of your best friends. Kill her now and it's over. Become the Alpha you're meant to be. Become a killer."

"They're not dead yet."

"And whose going to save them? Your friends?"

Scott stands up yellow eyes glowing, "My pack."

 

* * *

 

Isaac is covered in sweat, his body forcing the beams up as they force him back down. "Is it me, or is this place getting smaller?"

 

* * *

 

Deucalion reacts quickly flashing over and grabbing Scott by the back of his neck. His other hand takes Scott's wrist, holding his claws out in front of them as he moves him over to Jennifer. "Maybe you just need a little guidance."

Scott is straining against Deucalion's strength, he turns towards the Alpha, "I forgot to tell you something. Something that Gerard told me. "Deucalion… Isn't always blind." Scott takes the two flash bangs from his pocket and smashes them on the ground at their feet. All three werewolves cover their eyes, hissing as the flashes disorient them. Deucalion backs up swinging wildly into the air.

When the three of them are able to see again, they find themselves back to normal. Deucalion looks up at the sky, "The Eclipse. It's started."

Scott stands up looking to the empty spot where Jennifer was, "Oh, no." Scott thinks she has disappeared to kill the parents.

 

* * *

 

Stilinski attempts to help Isaac hold the roof up, both men on their knees shoving at the collapsing beams. Allison, Chris and Melissa kneel opposite them trying to hold up the roof as well.

Isaac shakes his head, "I can't do it. I can't hold it! I can't hold it!"

"It's too heavy! It's too much!" Allison cries as the roof falls further on them.

At that moment Stiles jumps down into the hole, he shoves a metal bat under the cracking beam that stops it from falling. His dad looks up in shock. "I always said aluminum was better than wood." Stiles leans forward hugging him tight.

 

* * *

 

Through the dust the three wolves watch as Jennifer steps through the dust, only this time it's the face of the Darach that stares back at them. She sends Scott flying back into the silos behind him.

The Darach grabs Deucalion throwing him down onto the floor where she proceeds to slam his head down onto the concrete until the back of his head lays in a pool of blood. Derek jumps out from behind the crates, "Jennifer! He doesn't know."

Jennifer stands up, "Know what?"

"What you really look like. He knows the cost of bringing Kali into his pack, but he's never seen the price you paid."

"No. No, he hasn't." Jennifer leans down placing her hand over Deucalion's eyes and the Alpha screams in pain as his eyesight is restored. He looks around for a moment, the fact that he can see again slowly registering in his mind.

"Turn to me. Turn to me!"

Deucalion turns his head to the left, he's hyperventilating as his eyes fall on the hideous face Jennifer has been left with. She shifts back to her normal face reaching her arm back but before she can strike, she stumbles, Derek runs forward catching her in his arms.

"What is this?"

"Healing him made you weak, just like healing Cora did to me. You won't have your strength for at least a few minutes."

"Then you do it. Kill him."

Derek smiles, "No."

"What?"

"Like my mother used to say, I'm a predator, but I don't have to be a killer." Derek grabs Jennifer's throat in his hand and squeezes, "Let them go."

Jennifer breaks his hold and shoves him back into a wooden pallet, she hits him in the face three times before she stops and looks at him, her face softening. "Derek."

She turns her back to him but spins around as she hears Derek stand. He grabs Jennifer by the throat as she takes him by the front of his shirt slamming his back against the metal silo behind him. As she does this Derek flashes back to Boyd and Cora ripping into his flesh inside the boiler room, the intense pain wracking his body.

Then suddenly there is a change in the atmosphere, Jennifer looks up as Derek's eyes take on the steel blue. "Your 15 minutes are up." He throws Jennifer across the floor, Scott and Derek stand up rushing towards her, but before they can get to her she tosses up a circle of mountain ash letting it fall around her feet blocking her from them.

"You can reach me. Ah!" Jennifer cries out in pain as an arrow tip pierces through the left side of her chest where her heart should be.

Tahlia steps into the warehouse, her compound bow in hand. "But I can."

Jennifer turns towards the huntress raising her hand, but before she can, Tahlia quickly draws an arrow sending it through the woman's hand. Jennifer screams raising her other hand but ends up with the same result, another arrow through her hand.

Jennifer pulls them out with a groan, as the huntress turns to her with a grin. "Come on Jennifer. You and me, no weapons, no magic. Let's see who the damsel in distress really is." With a smile from the woman, Tahlia sets her bow on the ground and steps into the circle. She glances around at the wolves, "Stay back."

She turns to Jennifer as they circle one another, the wolves looking on in anticipation, Derek mainly as he was curious just what Tahlia could do.

Jennifer lashed out quickly catching Tahlia across the cheek with a right hand. Tahlia head snapped to the right blood blossoming over her eye instantly. She retaliated with three quick jabs hitting Jennifer in the face twice, splitting the woman's lip and the last aimed at Jennifer's torso, doubling the woman over. Tahlia then dropped to a crouch, swinging her leg out in a wide, graceful art, connecting with Jennifer's ankles, throwing her off balance.

Without even realizing what exactly was happening, Jennifer found herself flat on her back, sucking in deep breaths of air that seemed devoid of oxygen. The subsequent tunnel vision that threatened to take away her sight cleared with just enough time to roll away from a kick to the ribs.

Tahlia backed up allowing Jennifer to get back to her feet, which the woman did, albeit very sluggishly. Once on her feet Jennifer charged Tahlia again, casting a punch to the left and then another to the right. Tahlia simply leaned the opposite way as the punch dodging them both, before she caught Jennifer with another punch to the face. Jennifer's head snapped to the right, her cheekbone bruising instantly at the impact.

Jennifer growled pulling a knife from her waistband, drawing a frown from Tahlia. "Can't even fight fair can you, Jennifer? Pathetic."

Jennifer lunged at Tahlia with the dagger, the huntress dodged the stab, grabbing Jennifer's arm and using her own momentum she flipped Jennifer over onto her back. Tahlia twisted Jennifer's wrist so far the wolves expected to hear it snap at any moment, but instead Jennifer dropped the knife. Tahlia released her, backing up she kicked the knife out of the circle.

Jennifer got back to her feet but still hunched over at the waist, she moved forward quickly driving her shoulder into Tahlia's torso. Tahlia let out a huff of air as Jennifer hit her low, she raised her arms driving her elbows into Jennifer's back. After several hits Jennifer loosened her grip enough for Tahlia to wrap her arm around Jennifer's throat, and unleashing a barrage of hits to Jennifer's right kidney.

Jennifer reaches down grabbing the back of Tahlia's knee and pulling, it drops the huntress to her knee giving the woman a chance to rain punches down on Tahlia's kidneys and back. After a particularly painful punch to the kidney that had Tahlia gasping for air she released her hold on Jennifer. The woman threw her head up catching the huntress in the chin snapping Tahlia's head back. Jennifer then stood driving her right knee into Tahlia's chin dropping the woman to her back. Jennifer kneeled down, her long leg across Tahlia's throat restricting the huntress' airway.

Jennifer obviously didn't expect Tahlia to be limber however, when a right kick from Tahlia's leg sent Jennifer sprawling on the floor. Her hand just brushed the barrier and she recoiled quickly, getting back to her feet. But just as stood Tahlia had her locked in a choke hold. The muscles in the huntress' arms flexed under her skin as she squeezed harder with ever passing second.

Just as Jennifer was slipping into unconsciousness, she summoned the last will of her strength. In a split second Jennifer had driven another dagger into Tahlia's abdomen. Tahlia took hold of the knife as Jennifer released her, she sunk to the floor, her eyes finding Derek's who looked at her as if she was already dead. Scott realized that unless they could break the ash, Tahlia was going to die.

"Like I told you, Derek, either you or the parents. Well, I guess I'll just have to take them now. In a few minutes, they'll be dead, and I won't need a Lunar Eclipse, even to kill a demon wolf."

Scott looks down at Tahlia's body, her eyes dropping with every passing second. Scott reaches out placing his hands on the invisible barrier separating Jennifer from him and pushes. Jennifer shakes her head, "You've tried this before Scott. I don't remember you having much success."

Scott pushes at the boundaries the glowing blue light shining from his hands as he pushes against the wall. His eyes glow their bright Beta yellow as he forces himself harder and further against the barrier, and just as they did before, his eyes change to the fire red of an Alpha. Scott pushes both of his feet inside the circle and suddenly a bright light engulfs them all and the seal is broken.

Jennifer looks up from her position on the ground, "How did you do that?"

Scott even seems unsure as he speaks, "I'm an Alpha now. Whatever you're doing to cause the storm, make it stop, or I'll kill you myself. I don't care what it does to the color of my eyes."

Deucalion steps up behind them, "It won't change the color of mine. So allow me." He steps up before any of them can move and slashes Jennifer's throat. She gasps, choking on her own blood she falls to the ground.

Derek rushes to Tahlia's side, lifting her up he lays her back against his bent legs. "Tahlia. Tahlia, open your eyes." He gently pats her cheek. "Tahlia, come on. Don't you leave me. I swear I'll come after you."

She opens her eyes blue meeting green and smiles. "You're not getting rid of me that easily, Derek."

 

* * *

 

The storm suddenly passes, the group looks at one another. "Is it over?" Allison wonders. They all laugh, hugging.

 

* * *

 

Ethan sits on the exam table, Cora checking him over before helping him off the table. Across from him Aiden lays on the table, Lydia running her hands over his chest. Aiden grabs her hand smiling up at her. "I knew."

"What?" Lydia asks gazing down at him.

"I knew you liked me." He turned his head nuzzling against her wrist as she shook her head and smiled.

 

* * *

 

Stiles phone vibrates, he picks it up seeing that it's Scott. "Scott?"

_"Hey! You okay?"_

"Yeah, we're okay. We're all okay. How 'bout you? Are you okay?"

Scott looks over at Tahlia and Derek, the wolf holding his bunched up t-shirt in his hand, pressing it against Tahlia's knife wound. The two look up giving Scott a 'are you kidding' look. "Sort of."

_"Well, you think you can come get us?"_

"Yeah, of course."

_"Great. Okay, um, uh, bring a ladder."_ The group laughs as Stiles hangs up the phone.

 

* * *

 

Scott ends the call turning to Deucalion who is being addressed by Derek. "My mother told me you were a man of vision once. We're letting you go, because we hope you can be that man again."

"But if you're not, then having your eyesight back won't matter, because you'll never see us coming." The three of them turn and walk away, leaving Deucalion to his thoughts.

 

* * *

 

The next day everyone sets out on their new paths. Allison and Tahlia approach Chris in his office where he's putting his guns away. "Back to storage?"

"That's the plan."

"What if we've got a different plan? Deaton said that what we did in order to find you— He said it might draw things here, make Beacon Hills kind of a beacon again."

"I hope not."

"I was thinking that maybe I should be prepared. Learn to be a better fighter, learn all the things that you can still teach me."

"And maybe a few things more."

"But we're going to have a new code. Nous devons protéger ceux qui ne peuvent se protéger eux-mêmes." The two huntresses say in tandem.

Chris smiles, "We protect those who cannot protect themselves."

The three hunters smile at one another.

 

* * *

 

_"_ _I honestly don't know if he's ever coming back. Part of me hopes so, but another part hopes that maybe he'll be okay somewhere else."_

Derek and Cora pack up their things and after one last look at the loft, Derek shuts the door.

 

* * *

 

_"_ _My dad doesn't look like he's gonna be leaving for awhile. But just because he's staying…"_

Scott opens his bedroom door, his father stands in the hallway. A beat passes before Scott slams the door in his face.

_"_ _Doesn't mean he's welcome."_

Down at the end of the hall Melissa ducks back behind the wall smirking.

 

* * *

 

Scott opens the doors to the school, walking inside.

_"_ _Stiles and I both feel it every day, just like you said we would, and it makes me think about that quote Jennifer used to start our first class. Because when I feel it, yeah… It's like… I'm looking "Into the heart of an immense darkness."_

_"_ _So what do you do instead?"_

_"_ _I look for my friends."_

Lydia stands against the lockers to his left, Aiden in front of her leaning in close as they smile at one another. Ethan and Danny walk out of a classroom on his right, holding hands and laughing as they pass him. Isaac and Allison come down the stairwell together talking and laughing. Stiles comes up behind Scott, hugging him and slapping a hand over his shoulder, the two smiling at one another.

_"_ _And what about Ms. Blake?"_

_"_ _I don't know. When we went back inside the distillery, her body was gone."_

 

* * *

 

Jennifer manages to crawl her way back to the Nemeton tree, clawing her way up to the flat surface. "Oh, please. Please. You saved me once before." But before she can touch the rings, her hand is grabbed by another, one with claws. They flip her over, her back resting against the side of the tree. She laughs as she sees who stands behind her. "Of course it's you." Peter stands before her. "Everyone else suffers, but somehow, you come out on top, and now that Scott's an Alpha, you'll be able to steal it from him. You'll be an Alpha again."

"Again? Again?" Peter raises his hand slashing Jennifer's throat open, killing her. "I…Am…The…Alpha! I've always been the Alpha!"

 

* * *

 

Derek stops by Tahlia's house on his way out of town, the two stand on the front porch together. The huntress leans against the porch beam as Derek takes something out of his pocket, holding it out to her.

Her house key.

Tahlia smiles closing his fingers back over the small piece of metal. "Keep it."

Derek smiled, a genuine smile as he pocketed the key. He locked eyes with her, stating, "I'm coming back."

She nods, "I'll be right here."

The wolf leans forward gently brushing his lips with hers lightly before pulling back. Tahlia scoffed grabbing Derek by the front of his leather jacket and pulling him back to her, crushing her lips onto his. His stubble scratched against her soft skin sending delicious vibes through her body. Her lips parted as his warm tongue snaked in dueling with her own. Tahlia pulled back far too soon for Derek's liking, leaning her forehead against his, both of them breathing hard.

"Don't be gone too long."

He nodded kissing her forehead before he turned and walked to his car. He opened the door, pausing he turned back towards the house smiling up at his huntress. "Be careful Lia."

"Always."

Tahlia smiled as he got in shutting the door behind him and starting the car. With a final wave from the two wolves the huntress watched the car disappear down the road. She sighed, slumping against the railing she thought about the whirlwind her life had been over the last year. "God I need a beer."

THE END


End file.
